When it comes to online business, credit card processing is one of the best ways to increase your chances to earn money. Hiring a merchant account provider to help you with your credit card processing is the best way to ensure that any purchases made to your site by those with credit cards is as smooth and effortless as possible.
However, with the option for people to purchase items with credit cards, the risk of being the victim of credit card fraud is also a serious one. It is important that you take the proper precautions to ensure that in your credit card processing you don't fall victim to the credit card fraud that is running rampant through e-commerce.
Here are some things to keep in mind when setting up your merchant account in order to enable you to do credit card processing for payments made to your site:
- Always get specific information and details about the person who is making the purchase via credit card. No one wants to fill in a life's history and a plethora of personal facts to be able to make a purchase, but you should obtain sufficient information to ensure that your transaction is safe and secure. Get a mailing address for each customer, as well as a valid telephone number or two. You can also add an extra field or two that requires customers to input valid information that can be verified. If anyone enters a mailing address that is invalid and a real phone number, you should not process their order.
- Never let suspicious orders go unquestioned. Many fraudsters will use an American method of payment, but will have their order sent overseas. Many others will make purchases of a large volume of items, orders that are nearly too large to be credible. While these kinds of orders are not the only type of fraudulent type, you should look for anything suspicious and instantly flag the order. Make sure to look into the details provided to ensure that they are not fraudulent before approving the order.
- Make sure that your shopping cart has the latest security measures installed in it to ensure that any purchases are completely secure. The SSL certificiate should always be updated, and you should ensure that your shopping cart is PCI compliant and encrypted securely to ensure that shopping on your site is safe.
A few small indicators of potentially fraudulent purchases are:
- The email address doesn't match the personal information given
- Sales are made in majority to a single gender(if your product is unisex)
- Too many sales in too short a period of time
- All purchases are made from the exact same IP address, meaning from the same computer
- Too many transactions have been declined within a very short period of time
- The only items purchased are the most expensive
While these different indicators are not sure signs of credit card fraud, it is important that you protect yourself and look into these sites. You don't want your merchant account closed simply because you made some silly credit card processing decisions. Protect yourself and your credit card processing by being aware of the tricks used by fraudsters.
