In the last twelve months, credit card fraud against online
companies has exploded as more and more thieves figure out
how easy it is. To make matters worse, online and phone orders
are not automatically insured against fraud - you are 100%
liable for all your losses.

So here are some easy ways to protect your e-business from
credit card fraudsters:

1. Reject orders sent from free web-based email accounts like
Yahoo or Hotmail. Antifraud.com says nearly all fraudulent
orders come from free accounts.

2. Most real businesses have e-mail addresses that include
their website's domain name. Go to their site and see if it
looks legit.

3. If the billing address is different from the shipping
address, this should raise a red flag, especially if they
are in different states or countries.

4. Another high-risk transaction is two or more orders from
the same credit card.

5. When in doubt, phone the number listed on the order.

6. US banks have an Address Verification System (AVS) that
merchants can use to ensure the billing address the purchaser
has given matches the one in the AVS system.

7. If you use an online order processor, make sure it has
thorough fraud prevention measures.

8. Put a message on your site warning crooks you have anti-
fraud protection in place.

9. Create a blacklist of bad credit card numbers so you
won't get ripped off twice by the same thief.

10. If you want an extra sense of security, insurance
coverage is now available against this type of fraud. One
reputable site that offers it is http://www.iib.com.au/

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