Having been in the global merchant account processing space since 2001, we’re all too familiar with how widespread and common e-commerce fraud is. Just when we think it can’t be more rampant than it is, we see increasing numbers to merchants’ collective disadvantage. We’ve read and blogged extensively on the many effective steps merchants can…
Category: Fraud Prevention
Deciding an acceptable fraud level in US merchant services
We don’t mean to slight our homeland, but there’s a quote from former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill that describes the US payments ecosystem we tend to agree with. He famously said: ‘You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.’ There is plenty to support that…
6 principles to protect your e-commerce merchant account from phishing, ATO
Ransomware. ATO. Wannacry. Spearphishing. Those four terms should scare the life out of anyone with an e-commerce merchant account. We’re immersed in the World Cup here at Instabill, and several of us are hardcore European soccer fans. Recently, we received an e-mail appearing to be an invitation to join a fantasy World Cup pool, with…
The Anti-Fraud Tactics Online Credit Card Processing Merchants are Using
Perhaps because I work with online credit card processing merchants, and I fully know the fraud risks involved, I get nervous when purchasing high ticket items online. Recently my 16-year-old son joined a mountain biking team out of a local bike shop, which called for a significant upgrading in mountain bikes. We found one which…
The biggest challenge of global credit card processing (and solutions)
There is no question the most formidable challenge to global credit card processing today is mitigating fraud, and recognizing the good guys from the bad. There is no silver bullet solution for such, and it is rampant beyond imagination. We often come across merchants who are bewildered at the enormity and frequency of the many…
Credit Card Payment Processing: Fraud Report Notes Patterns, Red Flags
There is a degree of empathy when we provide an e-commerce merchant the credit card payment processing solution they need, and that empathy comes from the staggering amount of fraud from which e-commerce merchants need to defend their businesses (and themselves). We also feel for our longtime merchant partners, because fraud prevention and identifying the…
E-Commerce Credit Card Processing: 10 Ways to Protect Your Merchant Account
Mitigating fraud has become very much a part of e-commerce credit card processing, much to some merchants chagrin. Perhaps it’s not how some merchants envisioned running their business when they launched 15-20 years ago, but protection against criminals and unsavory ‘customers’ – in other words, fraud and chargebacks – is a necessity. Every online business…
High Risk Merchant Services Providers are On the Front Lines Against Transaction Laundering
How common is transaction laundering? All high risk merchant services providers will offer similar responses from very to extremely. We’re unable to prove cases of such, but we’d venture to guess that a week doesn’t go by without our account managers receiving 3-5 inquiries from merchants with suspicious websites that show the signs of criminal…
Protecting Online Credit Card Processing: Going After the Criminals
Considering the current climate, protecting your merchant account is priority No. 1 when you rely on online credit card processing. Taking all the necessary precautions to prevent fraud – fighting chargebacks, examining transactions, clear return policy and billing descriptor – is the least a merchant can do. Fraud hits all e-commerce merchants. We recommend fighting…
Online dating merchant accounts: An industry with constant challenges
As if the high risk profile for online dating merchant accounts wasn’t high enough, dating merchants have had to grapple with an industry that has increasingly become a magnet for fraudulent activity. The dating industry has enough challenges with a typically high rate of chargebacks and reputation concerns. Over the last five years, there has…