Credit Card Fraud is on the rise with more and more merchants falling victim and if you do, 9 times out of 10 the bank favours against you (the merchant) and you’re left to try and recoup your loss.
What do you do? Well here’s the down-low on how to reduce your risk of falling victim.
How do you spot a fraudulent order?
We’ve found the most common red flags are:
- An unusually large order value
- They’ve paid for express shipping
- They’ve never purchased from you before.
What do I do when I see an order that seems suspicious?
We’ve put together 3 easy steps and a prompt on what to ask for.
- When you first spot an order that looks suspicious, don’t panic. Put the order on-hold so it doesn’t get processed.
- We suggest reaching out to the customer of the suspicious order.
- You’ve done everything you can, there is and will always still be a risk factor and you need to take that into account when making a decision whether to process or cancel the order.
We’ve created an email template you can use when reaching out to the customer:
- State that the order has been flagged in the system and you need further information to process it.
- Re-assure the customer that it’s in their interest and you are protecting them as well as yourself.
- Request for Photo ID and a picture of the Credit/Debit card used to place the order, covering all but the last 4 digits. Make this part of your Term’s and Condition’s of sale.
Yes, they replied
– and provided the information I asked for.
That’s great news. If it all looks good and the name of the ID and Credit/Debit Card matches then the risk of the order being fraudulent is lower. (It doesn’t completely mitigate the risk)
~ You will now have to make a decision whether to process or cancel the order.
– and they do not want to provide ID.
Some customers may feel it’s a violation of their privacy, and I don’t blame them as a lot of companies do misuse private information but you need to stick to your guns. It’s in the interest of your business and the customer.
~ You will now have to make a decision whether to process or cancel the order.
They haven’t replied, How long do I wait?
Good question. As a rule of thumb we normally suggest up to 72hours to respond, after that we advise the merchant to refund the order as no response is another red flag.
