With the rapid growth of online purchases, fraud is a big reality today. One needs to be cautious as the fraudulent activities like identity theft as well as credit card number theft is increasing day by day. However, new fraud protection services are helping to decrease the incidence of identity theft and credit card fraud.

In this era of technology, millions of customers purchase everything online from a kitchen sink to office equipment, from batteries to custom clothing and anything and everything as it is convenient and delivered right to their doorstep. Yes, no doubt, purchasing goods through telephone and internet is fast and easy, but is it safe? This is a typical question that both merchant and consumers ask.

With all the fraud activities going on everywhere, consumers and the merchants today want an assurance that their account information is safe. So, now the customers want to be careful and are anxious to know whether the data and information submitted at your website is secure and remains confidential. Using merchant account fraud protection methods is highly beneficial for you as a merchant as well as for your customers.

Some fraud protection methods are -

Ask for card expiration date It is important to know the card expiration date. The date in the authorization request helps to verify if the card and transaction are legitimate. Any transaction containing an invalid or missing expiry date is a sure indication of unauthorized use of the card.

Ask for CVV2 All the online credit card payment transactions are verified by Cardholder Verification Value or CVV2. CVV2 is a three-digit security number printed on the back of Visa cards. This is very essential to validate if the customer has a genuine Visa card in his/her possession and also to check whether the card account is legitimate or not.

Ask for a Code 10 authorization for fraud protection Call up your authorization center asking for a Code 10 authorization. This shows that you have concerns about a transaction. Always, try to verify and recheck by asking the customer for additional information if you feel suspicious about any transaction.

Set a Personal Identification Number (PIN) A PIN is just like a password. Creating this ensures that only you can use your card online, as your credit card will be protected with a password created by you.

Fraud protection methods have many advantages. All these fraud protection methods are simple and easy to use. Use of such methods greatly help to reduce fraudulent credit card transaction and also helps in reducing charge back volumes. They are low on implementation costs too.

For more, visit Credit Card Processing and Merchant Account Services