Here are four simple steps you can take if you feel you are dealing with a suspicious customer and/or transactions:
1. Delay the delivery or shipping of orders
Fraudsters want the exchanges to be as quick as possible before their victims catch them. We recommend that you delay the delivery or shipping of suspicious orders until the customer's identity is verified.
2. Verify both the transactions and the customer’s identity
Reach out to the customer directly to verify the purchase.
Ask for a valid identification card.
Ask for the credit card used showing the cardholder’s name and the first 6 and last 4 digits only.
Verify the given information by checking if the billing name matches the name in the valid ID and credit card.
Check your customers' social media presence and the legitimacy of their social media account, particularly if they used it to place an order to you.
3. Decide your action plan
As the merchant, you can decide whether or not to proceed with fulfilling the orders. It is your prerogative to cancel the transaction and refund the payments if you feel suspicious about the customer and the transactions.
It is best to refund the unverified suspicious transactions rather than wait for it to be disputed as fraudulent.
4. Keep your documentation
It is advisable to keep a record of the transactions in case a cardholder decides to file a dispute with the bank.
Merchants must keep records of, but not limited to: order receipts, customer communication (email exchanges, SMS or chat conversations), shipping receipts, and/or shipment tracking showing that the products have been delivered to the customers accordingly.
We encourage our merchants to reach out to us at [email protected] to report suspicious activities, customers, or transactions, or even just to get expert an opinion from our team.