Based on that information, the merchant can accept or reject the sale. We look at where the transaction originates from a geographic standpoint relative to the cardholder s billing address. If someone is dialing in from Miami and the billing address is Seattle, that s unusual. The goal is to minimize fraud, not eliminate legitimate sales. It depends on the product.
Digital products tend to be highly susceptible, as well as high-ticket items like laptops and PCs.
Fraud screening draws complaints ClearCommerce s Ferguson warns that fraud screening has its own downside, with merchants getting complaints about frequent rejections and developing bad reputations from angry postings to newsgroups. Ferguson says MasterCard statistics show Internet fraud rates actually are lower than their traditional mail and telephone order counterparts. You get a link on the Netscape home page, or you get posted on CNet as the best shareware author in the industry, and suddenly you go from one order a day to one order a second. A new security system championed by IBM and others is one as well as one promoted by Netscape, while banks and credit card companies such as Bank of America and Visa are promoting smart cards. All rights reserved.