Any business that accepts card payments carries some exposure to fraud — the goal isn’t to eliminate the risk entirely, but to make your business a harder, less attractive target.
Reduce the opportunity
- Verify customer details carefully, especially when someone asks to change payment information.
- Require a signature on delivery through a courier you trust.
- Send and receive card details only through encrypted, secure channels.
- Use Address Verification and CVV checks on every transaction.
- Watch for red flags — multiple orders from the same IP, unusually fast repeat purchases, or a shipping address that doesn’t match the card.
The scams worth knowing about
Refund fraud usually comes from inside — an employee processing a fake sale, then refunding it to their own card. Shipping scams involve a stolen card and a fake freight company asking for an upfront wire transfer. Chargeback fraud is a customer falsely claiming non-delivery after a legitimate purchase. Each has a simple defence: closely monitored refunds, verified shipping partners, and solid proof of delivery.
If it happens
Keep clear records of every transaction, shipment and communication. The business owners who recover fastest from a fraud incident are the ones who can produce that evidence immediately rather than reconstructing it after the fact.