The Card and the CardHolder

• New Customers. With a new customer there is always more potential for fraudulent activity using a stolen card, stolen card number, or a stolen identity.

• Returning Customers with New Buying Patterns. Returning customers altering their buying habits, billing address, shipping address, or account number could indicate a stolen identity.

• Transactions with Similar Account Numbers. Account numbers in series or following a geographic set indicate that they may have been generated fraudulently using software available on the internet.

• Transactions from Multiple Cards Shipped to a Single Address. Multiple account numbers shipping to the same address could indicate account numbers fraudulently generated using software or a batch of stolen cards or stolen card numbers.

• Multiple Transactions on One Card in a Short Period. Many quick charges on a single account number could indicate an attempt to run a card to its limit as quickly as possible.

• Multiple Account Numbers from the Same IP Address. More than one or two cards or account numbers from the same Internet Protocol Address could indicate fraud.

The Order

• Large Orders. Stolen cards and card numbers are only viable for a limited amount of time. Criminals try to make as many purchases as possible before the fraud is detected.

• Multiple Orders. Multiple orders of the same item or type of item indicate that the order could be a fraudulent order intended for resale.

• Big-Ticket Orders. Multiple big-ticket orders or orders made up of big ticket items have a high resale value and could be fraudulent orders intended for resale.

• Rush Orders. Criminals want to speed the resale of stolen items. Orders that ignore extra delivery charges or need over night delivery may indicate a fraudulent order intended for resale.

The Shipping Address

• International Shipping Address. Many fraudulent orders are shipped outside of the United States. Address Verification Systems are not as effective outside North America. 

• Multiple Shipping Addresses. One account number or similar account numbers with a single billing address a different or multiple shipping addresses could indicate organized criminal activity or a fraudulent order.

• Free Email Addresses. Account numbers using free email addresses have no audit trail and could indicate the use of a stolen card or account number or a stolen identity.