Credit Card-Not-Present Fraud - A Safety Guide For Merchants

Merchants who accept credit card-not-presentauthorities and shut down.
transactions are at a higher risk of receiving aInternational Shipping
fraudulent sale than a card present merchant. CriminalsInternational orders are a big red flag because AVS
do not have to identify themselves or physicallycannot validate addresses outside of the United
present a credit card to be swiped. Online purchases,States. Canada and the United Kingdom are an
phone orders, and catalog sales are examples ofexception.
when a credit or debit card would be keyed-in, notUnusual Shipping
swiped. These card-not-present merchants must takeBe on the look out for transactions placed on multiple
special precautions to ensure they will not be the nextcards with one shipping address. Or, multiple shipping
victims of credit card fraud. Here are some things toaddresses for transactions placed on one card.
look for when accepting card-not-present (CNP)Unusual shipping could indicate a ring of counterfeit
transactions.activity.
First Time ShopperSimilar Account Numbers
Ecommerce merchants, phone order merchants, andCriminals can create counterfeit credit cards using
catalog sales merchants should always be wary ofillegal software. Many times these programs create
first time customers. Criminals are always looking foraccount numbers that are closely related. Take the
new victims to scam. Ensure that you are using thetime to look closely at account numbers and note
AVS, or address verification system, and the cardsimilarities.
security code (CVV2) to reduce your chances ofSingle IP Address
getting stiffed.If you receive transactions from multiple cards from a
Unusual Orderssingle IP (Internet Protocol) address, take a closer look.
If you receive an order that is larger than normal, or anCriminals with stolen or counterfeit credit cards will
order that includes a lot of the same item: beoften "run" them through the same computer.
suspicious. Using the same card for multiple orders in aFree Email Accounts
short amount of time should also cause an alert.Fraudsters utilize free email accounts to use in the
Criminals succeed at credit card fraud by ordering bigcheck out process because there are no records or
and fast before a card can be shut down. Criminalsaudit trails leading back to their identity. There is no
also intend to re-sale their stolen goods. The biggerbilling relationship or verification of the person who has
inventory they have, the better chances they have onopened the email account.
the street.Card-not-present fraud is popular among credit card
Big Ticket Itemscriminals because their identity is anonymous and they
Criminals love to use stolen or counterfeit credit cardsdo not physically have to present a credit card to be
to obtain big-ticket items. Big- ticket items will have theswiped. The best things a CNP merchant can do to
largest resale value and make them the most profit.protect themselves is be aware of suspicious orders,
Rushed Ordersutilize the AVS, and always ask for the CVV2 security
Any time a customer requests "rushed" or overnightcode. If you are in doubt, you can always ask for an
delivery take notice. Criminals need to have their stolenalternative payment.
goods delivered fast before the card is alerted to