Protect your business against fraud.

We work hard to protect you from fraud, but every online transaction still carries some risk. To help minimise the risk to your business, you should take a proactive approach by reviewing all sales for signs that something might not be right.

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Check your sales for warning signs of fraud.

When you receive a new sale, take a proactive approach by asking yourself a few questions.

Is the shipping address a little suspicious?

Is it a high-risk address like a vacant property, a hotel or in a country known for fraud?Have you received multiple orders to the same address within a short period of time?Is the customer requesting same day, overnight or rush shipping despite high costs?Has the customer asked to change the shipping address after payment?

Does the order seem too good to be true?

Is it a larger than average order from a new customer?Has the same customer (name, email, phone or address) placed a lot of orders in a short time?Is it a bulk order? (For example, 10 mobiles or 30 pairs of jeans.)Have you received an unusually large number of international orders lately?

Is the customer behaving strangely?

Have you received claims or chargebacks from this customer before?Does the email address look suspicious, like knh$$yro123456@gmail.com?Are your emails to the customer undeliverable?Have you received a lot of orders at odd hours (like 3am)?

Limit your exposure.

To help keep your business safe:Always use your own shipping account, not one a customer requests or recommends.Keep lists of customers – one whitelist (good history of payments) and one blacklist (for when fraudulent payments have been received). Keep their names, email addresses, phone numbers, IP addresses and shipping addresses of customers on these lists and cross-reference them on future payments you receive.Set limits for the number and value of purchases you’ll accept from one customer or address per day, week or month.

Think you’ve received a fraudulent order?

Here’s what you can do.

1. Delay shipping

2. Contact the customer

3. Refund the transaction

PayPal Seller Protection.

When you get paid with PayPal, your eligible sales can be protected against unauthorised payments. You should still work to identify fraudulent transactions but if one slips through, we’ve got your back.

More about Seller Protection

Online buyer scams.

By checking for warning signs of fraud, you can also protect yourself against popular online scams.

Shipping service scam

Package rerouting scam

Overpayment scams

Help keep your business secure with PayPal.

Safety and security

Learn more

PCI compliance

Learn more

Handle chargebacks

Learn more

Reduce your business’s exposure to fraud today.

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