In addition to Christmas sales, Black Friday is enjoying steadily growing popularity. Sales increase from year to year and this year, too, we expect a peak in e-commerce. Unfortunately, such days with high traffic and increased order volumes are not only busy for webshop operators, but also tempting for IT criminals.
It's a good idea to think about what signs of fraud you should look out for in your webshop before Black Friday and the Christmas shopping season.
Below are some examples that may indicate abuse in webshops. Use this as a checklist to examine your site so that you're prepared if you suspect any fraudulent activity in your webshop.
How to Identify Fraudsters in Your Online Shop
There are various signs that may indicate a suspicious order. Below are examples of things that may suggest fraud:
- Many orders from the same customer/same card/same phone number/same IP address/same email, etc.
- Multiple orders, for example, to the same phone number/address, but with different names or similar.
- Delivery address and IP address are located in different countries.
- If the item is ordered from abroad: Could the item be purchased cheaper there?
- Do I need to ship the goods to a different country than where the payment card was issued?
- Are goods ordered that can be easily converted into cash?
- Have anonymous, untraceable customer information been used, such as phone cards, free/anonymous email accounts, or others?
- There were several declined transaction attempts before placing the order.
- The customer information deviates from the norm (e.g., with special characters instead of ä, ö, ü).
Many payment modules for webshops also allow you to see declined transactions, which can also be a good indicator of fraud. An order that was initially declined with other cards and then executed is very risky because few people have a stack of payment cards they can use in this way.
What can you do in case of a suspicious order in your online shop?
If an order seems suspicious to you based on the above checklist, you should subject it to further examination. Here are some steps you can take:
- Is the customer registered at the provided address? Check both addresses if there is a difference between the billing address and the shipping address.
- Call the phone number registered at the address (if it's a case of abuse and you only call the provided number, you'll only reach the fraudster, who will of course say everything is fine).
- Compare name, phone number, address, email, IP address, etc.
For a standardized control procedure for suspicious orders, you can create a checklist based on the above information, so you know what to look for.
Remember, it's your business, and you decide whether to cancel the sale. You can also request further evidence at any time to confirm the customer's identity.
By following the recommendations above, you can hopefully uncover any fraudulent attempts before fulfilling orders for which you may never receive payment.
We wish you a successful and busy Black Friday, and a likewise prosperous holiday season.