Reduce Credit Card Fraud for Internet Merchant Accounts

The most common victims of Internet credit card frauds are merchants. Here are a few practical tips on how to avoid or detect a fraud:

• Don't process an order just based on the credit card number of the customer. Demand complete address and contact number of the customer. Insist on some means of independent address verification of the credit card orders, just in case the card is a stolen one.
  
• When a customer makes purchases with a credit card and requests that the merchandise be sent to a different mail address than the one mentioned on the credit card, be careful. Insist that a letter/fax containing their signature and credit card number be sent, authorizing the transaction, whereby your liabilities, in case you're cheated.
  
• Do not consider orders that originate from free email service providers, because it's quite easy for a fraudster to open a free, anonymous email account in another person's name and then place an order using the fake email account and the stolen credit card number. A list of all such free email service providers can be found at http://www.antifraud.com/redflag.htm. Alternately insist on more information to check his identity.
  
• Be careful about unusually big orders along with instructions of immediate delivery as they want to make a quick get away.
  
• If you have any doubts or suspicions, call the customer's number and reconfirm whether he really placed the order. That little expense and the time spent is really worth in the long run.
  
• There are various services available to provide details of credit cards stolen or those put on alert. Subscribe to these services, which helps avoid consequent legal tangles.

Still, if you're cheated, immediately call the credit card company and inform them of the situation. Also, if possible, contact the cardholder and inform them that their card number has been stolen as many people aren't even aware that their account number has been stolen, which will help prevent further misuse of the card.