Every day, merchants are the victims of credit card fraud. As a merchant, you must
constantly be on the lookout for a variety of fraud schemes. Whether you take card
information by mail, telephone, Internet, or face-to-face, you must take action
to guard against fraudulent transactions.
Obtaining an authorization for each transaction is only the first step merchants
need to take to protect them from fraud. An authorization only confirms the validity
of a card number and expiration date and determines there are funds to cover the
transaction, but it does not guarantee a sale from being fraud.
You are on the front lines.
A sale is a legal transaction between the merchant and the cardholder with the credit
card issuer acting only as a financial clearing entity. Of all the parties involved
with processing the sale, you have the most information about the sale at the time
of the transaction. There are many tools available to you to minimize your risk
of fraud.
Common Fraud Schemes
Data Security Standards
Best Practices (for face-to-face transactions
and mail, telephone or Internet transactions)
Address Verification Service (AVS)
3-digit Security Code (CVV2 and CVC2)