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Friendly Fraud Hurts Merchants, Issuers and Cardholders: Here’s How

by Steve Durney

as seen on CNP.com for Friendly Fraud Month

It may sound harmless, but “friendly fraud” (also known as false claims) is taking a serious toll on merchants’ and issuers’ bottom lines — and it’s hurting consumers, too.

Friendly fraud happens when cardholders report a card purchase as unauthorized even though they or another person in their household indeed made it. 

Are Cardholders Being Taught to Engage in Friendly Fraud?

As seen on CNP.com for Friendly Fraud month

Much of today’s friendly fraud is benign — meaning cardholders dispute purchases that show up on their card statements because they don’t recognize them. How the merchant’s name is listed on the statement may be confusing, or another household member could have made the purchase, unbeknown to the cardholder. Other cases are not so innocent: Unfortunately, incidents of hostile friendly fraud — where cardholders use various means to actively ‘game’ the system for their own benefit — are also on the rise.

How Does Friendly Fraud Vary Across Industries?

as seen on CNP.com for Friendly Fraud month

Friendly fraud — when cardholders dispute card purchases they or someone else in their household actually made — has become a significant cost burden to merchants and issuers. But while it’s increasing across industries, certain ones have been hit particularly hard.

How Can Home Improvement Retailers Improve Their Fraud Protection?

The Home Improvement Industry is battling against fraud like never before. Why? Home goods, improvements and hardware are some of the fastest growing categories in ecommerce - and for good reason.

Fraudsters Love Consumer Electronics. How Can We Stop Them?

Consumer electronics are a popular target for fraudsters. Handheld gadgets such as tablets, smartphones, toys and cameras are high in value and in high demand. Despite investing heavily in sophisticated defences to catch fraud and stop bad orders before they’re shipped, many consumer electronics merchants continue to suffer serious losses and rack up unacceptable costs.

Stopping More Fraud & Accepting More Good Transactions

International e-commerce merchants are under more pressure than ever before as they try to strike a crucial balance: reducing fraud losses while accepting more domestic and cross-border transactions.

Turning Away Good Customers Hurts Issuers

As ecommerce fraud rises, it’s no surprise that both online merchants and issuers are starting to batten down the hatches to stop more of it and reduce losses. The unintended consequences? With tighter fraud rules and screening comes the risk of declining good customers (called ‘false declines’ or ‘false positives’) – that can have a big impact on ecommerce revenues and brand reputations.