Merchant Fraud Protection

As a merchant who accepts credit card payments for your goods and services, you are automatically at risk for credit card fraud. To protect your reputation and grow your business, it’s smart to take the necessary steps to prevent fraud and secure your customers’ data. Credit card fraud is not something that will ever be completely eliminated, but it can certainly be decreased.

Implementing the proper fraud protection tools within your merchant account will help mitigate the risk and make your customers feel more secure when doing business with you. However, not all fraud protection is created equal. Merchants need to weigh the pros and cons of using additional security features vs making their customers jump through extra hoops like 2-step authentication and so on.

Merchant Marketing Services can be your partner and your guide through this process. With our full suite of fraud protection tools, we are able to help you find the right balance for you and your customers. Our consultants will closely review the features and benefits of your business and make recommendations based on experience and the historical performance of each tool.

Fraud Prevention & Protection Tools

Services offers a variety of tools available to help merchants prevent fraud in their accounts. Not all businesses will need the same tools, so it’s important to understand each one and how they work. This is not an exhaustive list of services, but they are the main ones that we recommend for your consideration.

PCI Compliance

Every merchant who accepts credit or debit card payments is required to follow Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards. The merchant accounts and other business solutions offered through Merchant Marketing Services are 100% PCI certified and compliant. This allows you to focus on growing your business while we focus on protecting it.

AVS Service

Address verification service (AVS) is a traditional way in which payment gateways verify that the buyer is actually the owner of a credit card. Most consumers are already accustomed to putting in their address and zip code when making a purchase with a card. Implementing this into your regular business operations is a simple way to increase protection of your business and your customers.

CID Verification

The security number on the back of a credit or debit card is referred to as the Card Identification Number (CID). It is sometimes also the CVV or CSC, depending on the card issuer. Regardless of what it’s called, it is the three-digit code on the back of the card that is often requested when making a purchase online or over the phone. This is another step in making sure that the purchaser is in fact the owner of the card being used, because they have to have the card in hand to see this number.

Consumer Data Tracking

Tracking the purchasing habits of your customers is an important step in fraud risk management. Most people have trends in what and how they purchase goods and services. Merchant Marketing Services has solutions that can track those habits and alert you when something seems out of the ordinary such as larger-than-normal ticket totals, multiple small purchases, etc.

Automated Detection

Having solutions that will automatically detect and alert you of potential fraud is invaluable as a business owner. The automated detection services offered by Merchant Marketing Services will do the work for you while you run your business. In addition to securing your business website along with other protocols will help merchants protect themselves. Although there is no way to completely eliminate fraud, this service will definitely help you cut down on it.

Merchant Services Scams

Credit card fraud on your customers’ cards is not the only fraud you need to be aware of. There are also a variety of scams being used within the merchant services industry. It’s important to be aware of these and respond appropriately if you encounter them.

Merchant services scams often come in the form of a recorded voicemail, telling you that your rates have increased or are going to increase. They leave a phone number and instruct you to call the number immediately to avoid any increase in your merchant account fee structure. If you call them back, they will try several different tactics to get you to agree to switching accounts or service providers.

The best safeguard against these types of scams is common sense and thoughtful review of what they are offering. If they send paperwork for you to sign, read it carefully, or have an attorney do so for you. Don’t ever sign a new contract for your business without a clear understanding of what it is and what it means.

Merchant Account Scams

Merchant account scams refer to scams in which people setup false merchant accounts in order to steal money from other merchants, stores and consumers. These take a couple different forms, as well. They are difficult to detect and are a big threat to business owners. Here are a few things to watch for and ask your Merchant Marketing Services consultant about solutions.

Transaction Laundering

One form of merchant account scams happens when a thief secures and uses an approved merchant’s identity and account credentials to login to their merchant account. In this scenario, the thief will process fraudulent transactions, sometimes without the approved merchant’s knowledge. Merchant Marketing Services has tools to help you understand and improve your risk management.

Bust Out Fraud

In this type of fraud, the thief acquires a merchant account under a fake identity. Once they have an account, they will open lines of credit under the false name and process as many transactions as possible. This can go on for several years, or only a couple of months. When the thief is done, they will simply abandon the account altogether.

Summary

With so many risks of fraud, it’s important to choose a partner who can help you make a good decision to protect your business and your customers. Merchant Marketing Services has a suite of tools that will make this process simple and easy to understand. Contact a Merchant Marketing Services consultant today and learn more about our fraud protection tools.