Fraud affects many businesses, so here are some top tips which could help your business.
To keep it simple for you, this article’s split into three sections:
1) General tips to help prevent chargebacks
General tips that could help prevent chargebacks
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Set out your policy Include very clear and concise terms and conditions on order returns and refunds policy. Make your policy easy-to-find Display your refund policy clearly on your website or in store. This may help discourage customers who look for opportunities to make fraudulent claims. Stick to your rules Make sure your business follows through on your refund or cancellation policy when customers make a legitimate request. Refund customers as soon as you can Make refunds as soon as possible and make it clear when they can expect the money back in their account. Customers may be less likely to start a chargeback if they think they can solve their issues quickly and easily with you. Follow-up refunds in writing Send an email after the refund or cancellation, reminding your customer when they can expect their funds back. Strengthen your ecommerce T&Cs Add a tick box to the checkout page to confirm that your customers agree to your T&Cs and refund policies. This evidence can help counter existing chargeback requests. Label your company name clearly Let your customers know your unique business descriptor before any purchase. For example, a business called “Java Café” should have something like “Your credit card statement will display this charge as Java Café”. Match the refund to the card If a customer’s refund isn’t taken by the same card that they made the payment with, they can still raise a chargeback. It has to go to the same account. Track your terminals Keep them in sight and only share your supervisor code with trusted colleagues. If anyone knows your code but you think they shouldn’t, make it a priority to change it. |
Spotting indicators of fraud
There are some red flags when it comes to recognising fraudulent behaviour in customers. If you see it, try to stop it.
In-person payments
- Hurried and careless high-value purchases.
- Physically unusual payment card - it may be bigger, smaller, a different shape, be damaged or more.
- A nervous customer, or a customer who signs for a purchase more quickly or slowly than normal.
- The buyer checks their card’s signature before signing.
- The cardholder has more than one card under different names.
- The customer asks to break a large payment into small amounts on many cards.
- Multiple declines.
If you see any of the above, or have any other reason to feel suspicious, you have the right to ask to see ID before taking the payment.
Card not present payments
- Any especially large order.
- Multiple orders, especially to more than one address.
- Customers focusing on the speed of delivery, wanting to send couriers or taxis to get good on short notice.
An authorisation code isn’t a guarantee of payment, it can take up to 120 days for a fraud related chargeback to be raised. and 540 days for a service related chargeback.
How we can help
We do our best to prevent fraud in our role as your payment provider. And while it’s an issue we tackle every day, it’s not something we have full control over to end completely.
So if you ever do spot anything you think might be fraud, we’ll do our best to give you advice on how you can protect yourself.
Get in touch 8am-6pm Monday-Sunday.