Merchants Protect Yourselves When the Card Is Not Present

Card not present merchants need extra precaution against fraud exposure and associated losses. Merchants should follow these steps to protect themselves against fraud.

1. Obtain an authorization for the transaction
2. Verify that the card is legitimate:
1. Ask the customer for the card’s expiration date and include this when doing the transaction and obtaining the authorization. If the customer doesn’t have the address chances are they do not have the card on them.
2. Use fraud prevention tools such Address Verification System (AVS) and Card Verification 2 (CVV2).
3. Look for these warning signs of fraud:
1. First time shoppers
2. Orders that include several of the same items
3. Orders that include your most expensive items
4. Orders that want the merchandise next day
5. International orders, AVS does not validate non-US addresses
6. Shipping to a different address that is not the billing address of the card.
4. If you receive an order and an authorization but you’re still hesitant of the transaction always ask for more information or contact the cardholder to obtain information like the billing address or the name of the card issuing bank.

At Eagle Merchant Services we offer all or our merchant’s that latest tools to prevent fraud with our POS equipment and processing software.