At a time when social distancing is profoundly impacting many of our businesses, the last thing any of us want is for losses to be compounded by the action of thieves. Unfortunately, it’s during these emotional and disrupted days that many criminals are at their most active. We are all more vulnerable to social engineering attacks during times of stress. In this short message, we’re going to address one of the most common and damaging types of fraud: the passing of stolen credit card information.
Fostering a fraud-busting environment.
You will want a space where employees feel comfortable trusting their instincts and digging a little deeper with customers who raise red flags. In Baseline’s experience, the businesses that are least vulnerable have a two-part system that provides a clear guideline to team members.
First, employees are trained to look for suspicious actions such as:
- a customer who’s trying to hurry them through the transaction
- odd demands about shipping timelines or shipping address
Second, learn to identify fraudsters without irritating legitimate customers. The following strategies strike an important balance:
- Call your processor before the transaction is processed and ask for a “Code 10”. The operator will then go through a security process to ensure the card is valid.
- Have the customer send a picture of their Driver’s License for confirmation on call-in and online orders.
- Collect CVV codes on all manually entered transactions.
- Have the customer sign & send back the invoice. Include a description of the goods or services on the transaction receipt for all large, card-not-present orders.
- Be sure to use your Processor’s Address Verification Service (AVS).
- Take license plates down on pick-up orders.
Remember that the name of the game is setting up an easily understood, appropriately vigorous fraud prevention system and then communicating it effectively to your entire staff. It’s also a good idea to explain to your employees exactly why these steps are being taken. A team member who understands why they’re performing these actions is more likely to feel a sense of responsibility for protecting the company.
Finally, as HAVAN members, you have full access to the Baseline Processing team. While practicing social distancing we’ll still be happy to help you design and implement a system that protects you without hindering your ability to do business.
Contact Baseline Processing for more information.
