What You Need to Know About Friendly Fraud

Also referred to as chargeback fraud, friendly fraud has become a huge problem for online merchants. Billions of dollars are lost every year through credit and debit card fraud. Chargeback fraud is ranked top of the list among these types of fraud. As such, it is becoming more and more important for online merchants to come up with chargeback management strategies to ensure they do not end up suffering from its serious effects.

The name friendly fraud might not sound as threatening or dangerous; however, this is far from the truth. Read below to find out more about this fraud and how you can implement an effective chargeback solution.

 What is Friendly Fraud?

As previously stated, friendly fraud occurs during online credit card and debit card transactions. These transactions are referred to as card-not-present transactions. Usually, customers make a purchase online and use their card to pay. However, after they have received the goods or services purchased. They call the card company and state that the purchase was fraudulent or a mistake.  This prompts the card company to charge back the payment initially made. This results in the online merchant losing the sales proceeds, and more through chargeback fees.

How Online Merchants are affected by Chargeback Fraud

As you have seen from the above definition of friendly fraud.  Chargeback fraud leads to loss of sales proceeds from already processed and delivered goods/products. Furthermore, as chargeback rates for a merchant increase.  Their fraud risk also rises. This prompts transaction processing companies serving them to raise chargeback fees as a means of covering the increasing risklevels. These two costs hit online merchants hard leading to losses and in extreme situations closure of the merchant account. It is worth noting that these rising costs also mean that the affected online merchants have to raise product prices to cover the same.

Some Chargeback Solutions

Create a Paper Trail

One of the most effective chargeback prevention measures online merchants can implement is to create a paper trail on each transaction. Records of the transaction, shipping, and receipt of the order provide you with the necessary evidence to argue against friendly fraud, deliberate or not.

Easy Returns

Another chargeback security measure online merchants can implement comes in the form of easy return and refund procedures. This ensures that honest customers who are not looking to commit chargeback fraud can get their money back, while the merchant gets the product back. Furthermore, no chargeback fees will be slapped on the merchant in such cases.

Fraud Prevention Software

Online merchants can also use software to detect the IP, shipping and billing address of their customers to be used in arguing against unfair/fraudulent chargebacks. The chargeback solution can even be used to detect customers using proxies to hide their IP addresses in an attempt to commit fraud.

Enable AVS System

AVS system is something that can help businesses to verify all the transaction on time when they taking place on the website. AVS system saves your business from fraudster by verifying that original cardholder is making the transaction. It will ask for the correct billing address associate with the card customer using. If someone using the stolen card to make that purchase they won’t succeed as they don’t have information about the registered address with the card. This is an extra layer of security that only allows original cardholders to make purchase on your website.

With the above information, you have an idea of the chargeback tools you need to protect your online business against the threat that is, friendly fraud.