Debit Cards - Things Merchants Should Take a Closer Look At
Today online shopping is huge in many countries around the world with millions of dollars being spent online each and every year.
In previous years, you needed a credit card to order anything off of the internet, but now with the advent of widespread access to debit cards; this is no longer the fact. It is now possible for almost anyone to order something online by simply using their debit card.
Unfortunately for online merchants, the internet has been huge player in the fraud game and there have been thousands of cases of online card fraud. Although many do not realise, card fraud can cripple an online merchant. This practise of fraud is now spreading into the debit card industry and there are a lot of cases of fraud being committed using debit cards.
Fraud is one of the main reasons an online merchant should use things such as a BIN database to help protect themselves. This can help to determine if a card is false or not and substantially lower ones risk. However, those that do slip through can cause major headaches. Debit cards in particular are a major source of fraud and widely used for fraudulent activates in developing countries as well as economically sound countries such as the U.S. or Britain.
An online merchant should always take a closer look at as much information as they can before approving any transaction on a debit card. One common thing to check for is the difference in billing and shipping addresses. Many criminals will have products shipped to a different address.
Quality and frequency can be something to watch out for when it comes to protecting oneself from debit card fraud. A shipment of 81 digital photo frames should raise your suspicion as criminals will often order in bulk. Also, investigating multiple orders that have been made in a short amount of time can help to protect you from debit card fraud. A customer placing 27 orders in as many hours could be considered abnormal.
Another thing that should be considered before approving a debit card transaction is whether or not the customer has a free e-mail address. A free hotmail address can be a great thing, however it can be very easy to set up a false account. There is an extremely higher rate of crime among free e-mail users. Depending on what it is that you are selling, you might want to think twice before shipping to a free e-email address.
Taking a closer look and investigating any debit card transactions before approving the transaction can be vital in maintaining a profitable business. Don’t let fraud destroy your business and take as many steps as you can to avoid it.
