Keep your eyes open for these fraud indicators and when more than one is true during a Card-Not-Present transaction, fraud might be involved. Always be sure to follow up, just in case.
First-time shoppers - Criminals are always looking for new victims.
Larger than normal orders - Because stolen cards or account numbers have a limited life span, crooks need to maximize the size of their purchase.
Orders that include several of the same items - Having multiples of the same item increases a criminal's profits.
Orders made up of "big ticket" items - These items have maximum resale value and therefore maximum profit potential.
"Rush" or "Overnight" shipping - Fraudsters want these items as soon as possible for the quickest possible resale and aren't concerned about extra delivery charges.
Shipping to an international address - A significant number of fraudulent transactions are shipped to fraudsters outside of the U.S. Visa AVS cannot validate non-U.S., except in Canada and the United Kingdom.
Transactions with similar account numbers - Particularly useful if the account numbers used have been generated using software available on the Internet (e.g., CreditMaster).
Shipping to a single address, but transactions placed on multiple cards - Could involve an account number generated using special software, or even a batch of stolen cards.
Multiple transactions on one card over a very short period of time - This could be an attempt to "run a card" until the account is closed.
Multiple transactions on one card or a similar card with a single billing address but multiple shipping addresses - Could represent organized activity, rather than only one fraudster at work.
In online transactions, multiple cards are used from a single IP address - More than one or two cards could indicate a fraud scheme.
Orders from Internet addresses that make use of free email services - These email services involved no billing relationships and often neither an audit trail nor verification that a legitimate cardholder has opened the account.
Other Possible Fraud Scams
Deaf relay system - This service allows the fraudster to not have to speak a word to the business and has been targeted for fraud sales. Please use careful precautions when accepting sales.
Wires or Western Union - Scammers pay using a fraudulent credit card but ask for money to be wired or sent via western union back to them for one reason or another.
“Too Good to be True” - If the sale is a very large amount, the customer is asking for large quantities or the sale is otherwise out of the normal for your business, it might be a fraudulent sale.
Please view the article below for more information on fraud:
12 Potential Signs of Fraud CNP.pdf
You may also be interested in exploring some additional resources about Fraud Prevention below:
MasterCard Fraud Prevention Solutions
Visa Fraud Prevention Resources
How to Protect Your Business and Your Customers From Data Fraud
