Credit card fraud affects almost every business in Canada and accounts for 15 percent of all fraud in Canada. While this is a daunting statistic, measures are in place to reduce the risks presented by credit card processing.

Your business is not liable for credit card fraud if you can prove you were diligent in trying to detect fraud, this article will outline some common types of fraud and how you can protect yourself against them. Having a large number of chargebacks (reversed credit card transactions due to fraudulent activity) increases the risk assessment of your business, resulting in higher credit card processing rates.

In this three-part series, we will discuss:

• Common types of credit card fraud
• What to do if you business is targeted
• How to protect your ecommerce business from credit card fraud

Common types of credit card fraud

Today, we will discuss common types of credit card fraud and how to protect your business.

Lost or Stolen Card

Criminals who obtain lost or stolen credit cards may use them to purchase goods or withdraw money. Visa Canada, MasterCard Canada, and most other major credit card providers closely monitor the use of their accounts for fraudulent activity. They will freeze an account with suspicious activity until the issue can be investigated.

Protect your business by:

• Checking each purchaser’s signature to ensure it matches the one on the back of the card.
• Asking for identification from suspicious purchasers.

Upgrade to the new chip and PIN technology to protect yourself … Read more