Merchant Fraud Protection Merchant Credit Card Fraud Protection What protection do you, as a merchant, have against credit card fraud? As a retail store merchant or an online merchant that accepts a credit card transaction and provides a product, you are often without recourse. If you accept a fraudulent credit card transaction, you lose both the payment and the product--and often pay a penalty fee. Consumers are protected from credit card fraud. When their card is used by a thief, the consumer is liable for only $50 in charges. Some credit cards issuers offer zero consumer liability. Credit card issuers (banks) don't suffer any loss due to credit card fraud. Banks simply charge back to the merchant. A merchant is not protected from fraud by the credit card issuer, nor can most merchants find the individuals who perpetrated the fraud. In most case a merchant cannot even interest the police in pursuing the theft. A merchant simply has no real credit card fraud protection. Merchant Credit Card Fraud Protection Before The Charge Goes Through Now you can gain increased confidence in accepting charge cards after checking with preCharge, a new vendor that offers a cost-effective card-not-present credit card fraud prevention service that includes IP geo tracking, zip code validation, free e-mail address check, proxy check, and much more. The preCharge team has sought to aggressively fight what was once a losing battle against online credit card fraud. Internet fraud has continued to plague eCommerce like a cancer and has become a huge barrier to what was once the driving force for the United States and the world. While several solutions have come and gone, preCharge has sought a solution that is both cost-effective and worthwhile to businesses in a way that has never been attempted before. The unfortunate onslaught of credit card fraud continues to drive new and existing businesses away from the incredible sales medium that the Internet once was. While the industry has made one attempt after another to provide solutions, they have either become ineffective or too expensive. Because preCharge is affordable and easy to use, combined with our ability to adapt to the ever-changing marketplace, preCharge will become the Internet standard in the fight against continued attacks on Internet eCommerce. We welcome all merchants to give preCharge a try. The service is built on effectiveness and usability. With our moneyback guarantee, no merchant should go without our system. We will continue to strive to improve the product and we will never lose focus. Rest assured that preCharge is who we are, and preCharge is what we do. We will give our clients no less than the best. Credit Card Fraud As soon as you realize you are a victim of credit card fraud, you should: Contact the three major credit reporting agencies to notify them of the problem and provide as much evidence as you have. Ask them to log the theft and remove the fraudulent information from your credit record. call Equifax at (800) 525-6285, Experian at (888) 397-3742, and Trans Union at (800) 680-7289. Request that a "fraud alert" be placed on your credit report. This will alert any credit provider to contact you before issuing a new credit card. Call and then write each agency. Trans Union, Fraud Victim Assistance Department P. O. Box 6790 Fullerton, Calif. 92834 Call (800) 680-7289. Equifax P. O. Box 740241 Atlanta, Ga. 30374-0241 Call (800) 525-6285. Experian P. O. Box 1017 Allen, Texas 75013 Call (800) 301-7195. Request a copy of your credit record from each agency. This is a free service for victims of fraud. The nearest office of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service may be able to give you advice on removing fraudulent claims from your credit report. Call 800-388-2227. After you've dealt with the credit reporting agencies, you need to deal with the credit card issuers. Call your credit card issuers to cancel your credit cards. Cancel them with the status "Account closed at customer's request." If you allow the closing status to be "Card lost or stolen" the "lost" part could place blame on you. Request new cards with different credit card numbers. Follow up in writing with the details of each card you wish canceled. Call each company that issued a fraudulent credit card to obtain a copy of the signed credit card contract. You must have this document to prove you did not authorize the issuance of the card and are therefore not responsible for the charges. You may have difficulty locating the person authorized to send you a copy of the contract, but be persistent. Follow up in writing to the address given for "billing inquiries," not the address for sending your payments. Call each company that issued a fraudulent credit card to request their procedures for handling fraudulent accounts or charges. They may require a signed affidavit of fraud, police reports, or other documents. Cooperate with these procedures to expedite their bureaucratic process. Once they acknowledge fraud, ask them to send the three credit reporting agencies a letter confirming the fraudulent activity. Notify each company that issued a fraudulent credit card that the card is, indeed, fraudulent and charges against that card are fraudulent.Continue calling each company that issued a fraudulent credit card to track their progress in their investigation. Identity Theft Protection If you are serious about protecting your credit and want identity theft coverage, you can examine Privacy Matters 1-2-3 Identity Theft Protection Service. This resource provides: Triple Bureau Credit Monitoring provides automatic alerts when activity is detected to your credit files at all three credit bureaus FREE 3-in-1 Credit Report and Triple Score — get unlimited online access to your 3-in-1 Credit Report and Triple Score, which merges your credit information and scores from all three credit reporting bureaus into one easy-to-read report Online access to FICO® Scorewatch, which automatically notifies you of changes to your FICO® score — at members-only rates Unlimited, toll-free access to Credit Report Customer Service Enroll in Identity Theft Restoration Services — at no additional cost to you Check out Privacy Matters 1-2-3 Identity Theft Protection Service today. Problems You Can Encounter My wallet was stolen in December 1998. There’s been no end to the problems I’ve faced since then. The thieves used my identity to write checks, use a debit card, open a bank account with a line of credit, open credit accounts with several stores, obtain cell phones and run up huge bills, print fraudulent checks on a personal computer bearing my name, and more. I’ve spent the last two years trying to repair my credit report (a very frustrating process) and have suffered the ill effects of having a marred credit history. I’ve recently been denied a student loan because of inaccurate information on my credit report. From a consumer complaint to the FTC, February 22, 2001 I’m tired of the hours I’ve spent on the phone and all the faxing I’ve had to do. When will it be over? From a consumer complaint to the FTC, March 13, 2001 Tomorrow is Sunday so we won’t get any notices, but I’m not looking forward to Monday’s mail. From a consumer complaint to the FTC, November 13, 2001 How can someone commit identity theft? The Federal Trade Commission explains how identity theft is committed: By co-opting your name, Social Security number, credit card number, or some other piece of your personal information for their own use. In short, identity theft occurs when someone appropriates your personal information without your knowledge to commit fraud or theft. Once identity theft is committed, then what? Once identity thieves fake your identity, they: Open a new credit card account, using your name, date of birth, and Social Security number. When they use the credit card and don’t pay the bills, the delinquent account is reported on your credit report. Call your credit card issuer and, pretending to be you, change the mailing address on your credit card account. Then, your impostor runs up charges on your account. Because your bills are being sent to the new address, you may not immediately realize there's a problem. Establish cellular phone service in your name. Open a bank account in your name and write bad checks on that account. More information is available here about: How to commit identity theft How to prevent identity theft Help for victims of identity theft Back to the main page of Identity Theft Identity Theft Links Identity Theft Credit Cards Commercial Identity Theft Repair Credit Card Fraud Consequences Identity Theft How It's Done Identity Theft Victim What Is Being Done About Identity Theft? How To Obtain Personal Information Uk Identity Theft With Picture Free Credit Identity Theft Submission Copyright © 2004-2010 Robert Sherman