Based on our experience helping dealers sell hundreds of millions of dollars in parts and accessories, here are some common red flags to look for:

1. Large, expensive orders are expedited

While it’s not out of the realm of possibility that someone just wants their order quickly, if a high value order is expedited and the shipping cost skyrockets, this can be a sign of a fraudulent order – criminals have a limited timeframe and want to get items with big resale value.

It’s best to be wary of orders that seem inconsistent with your normal customer activity.

2. Shipping and billing addresses don’t match

If a customer’s billing and shipping addresses differ, this is another red flag to keep an eye on. You can check residency of the delivery address to see if their name matches the occupants. It’s possible they might have recently moved.

If the delivery address is a P.O. box or non-residential address, it tends to be more suspicious.

3. Re-attempting an order with a smaller amount

A common thing that credit card thieves will do if an order gets flagged as fraud and declined is to try and place another, smaller order. This is a clue that they don’t know the limit or available balance on a card and are trying to guess.

4. Multiple orders with different payment information

This may seem a bit obvious, but if you notice that there are multiple orders placed with the same shipping information and different cards, it could very well be a sign that a thief is using various stolen cards to get the job done.

5. Customer information just seems off

Our last red flag may seem a bit broad – but there are a few things we can suggest looking for. First of all, does the customer’s name match the name on the card or account? Does the formatting seem off (are there weird hyphens, misspellings, spaces, all lowercase or uppercase typing)?

Is the email associated with an old or free domain? Common ones used for fraud include outlook.com, mail.com, or other ones that don’t exist. Emails with several random characters like carlover8812xp09@example.com is a red flag.

RevolutionParts helps dealers to significantly reduce fraudulent orders by quickly identifying many of these red flags and presenting them to you in the form of a risk score. Each order is scored using more than 25 different criteria that are known to be red flags, making it easier to identify potential risk. However, it’s not a guaranteed way to eliminate fraud. It’s important to train your team to look for other red flags.

When in doubt, trust your instincts and get extra verification before processing an order. A few steps you can take include:

Calling the customer and verifying their identity.

All you need to let the customer know is the reason for needing additional verification (large order size, shipping address concern, etc) and ask for a photo of their driver’s license. Even better is if they are willing to provide a picture of their driver’s license next to the method of payment to show they have the card in hand.

Using the built-in fraud tool on the RevolutionParts platform.

A fraud score is given, ranging from 0 (no risk) and up. Additional details are provided to allow you to see how the score was determined. You can report suspected fraud if you are unsure about an order but see a few red flags.  We encourage you to only use the “known fraud” selection if you are close to 100% sure that an order is fraudulent. The fraud tool uses your feedback and this information to learn and constantly improve identifying potentially fraudulent orders.

Keep in mind that online fraud is always evolving. While we can’t stop fraud from happening, here at RevolutionParts, we are doing our best to keep our tools up to date as changes occur so that you can be proactive and take steps to prevent and report what you see.

Want more tips on how to prevent fraud? Our Account Management and Support teams are more than willing to provide additional insight. They can even give you a walk-through of the fraud prevention tools that our platform offers.

You can also access our online Knowledge Base for fraud prevention information.

We encourage you to take proactive steps to avoid online fraud – and we’re here to help!

The post 5 Red Flags for Identifying Online Fraud appeared first on RevolutionParts - Sell Parts and Accessories.

But you shouldn’t have to live in fear. As long as you have the right tools and a bit of knowledge on the subject, it’s easy to spot a risky order.

Here’s a list of resources you can read to learn more about avoiding fraud and protecting your margins when selling parts online.

4 Insights into the Mind of an Online Fraudster

What’s going through a fraudster’s mind when they’re preparing to scam you?

By knowing a few things about their thought process, they’ll be easier to spot when they place an order on your parts website.

This article breaks down 4 of things fraudsters think about before they place an order.

5 Unbelievable Examples of Orders that Looked Fraudulent but Weren’t

Up for a bit of detective work? The examples in this article show some incredible orders that looked incredibly suspicious, but ended up being legitimate. Learn how to hunt for clues in the order that can help you distinguish fraud vs legit orders.

Warning: these order examples are highly unlikely situations. When it comes to fraud, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

7 Essential Practices to Avoid Online Fraud

A few best practices on your parts website can go a long way in protecting you from hackers and fraudsters.

Sometimes it’s as simple as working with an eCommerce solution that prioritizes security and takes certain measures to keep you safe.

Top 10 Red Flags for Online Fraud on your Parts Website

Knowledge is power! Stay ahead of fraudsters by knowing how to recognize a risky order when it comes in.

Luckily, the RevolutionParts platform’s fraud score indicator recognizes all the most common red flags of fraud and lists them out for you on any risky order.

That said, it’s still good to know what warning signs to look for in potentially fraudulent orders.

How to NOT Get Hacked When Selling Auto Parts Online

Do you know what Tokenization is? Here’s what you need to know: It’s one of the best ways to protect sensitive customer information on your parts website.

Make sure your eCommerce solution uses tokenization before signing up!

The post Sell with Confidence: 5 Fantastic Resources for Avoiding Online Fraud appeared first on RevolutionParts - Sell Parts and Accessories.

Online retailers are facing record high risks and losing billions of dollars each year from internet-savvy thieves and their credit card fraud. But fraudsters aren’t invincible, and any shrewd business can stop credit card fraud in its tracks.

Here are a few tips to make sure you’re not about to become their next victim.

With an eCommerce solution like RevolutionParts, all of these factors will show up in our fraud scoring tool. High-risk orders will get a higher fraud score, making them easy to spot.

It still helps to know the basics of detecting online fraud, so you can make the most informed decision possible when fulfilling orders.

Letting a high-value fraudulent order go through by accident can set your team back by WEEKS, so it’s best to play on the safe side.

1. Billing and shipping addresses don’t match.

Is the customer’s billing address different than the shipping address?

While this one by itself isn’t an automatic reason for alarm, it’s something to be aware of—especially if the billing, shipping, and IP addresses are all states or even countries apart.

There are plenty of honest reasons the addresses wouldn’t match. The customer could be ordering a gift, they could have just moved and hadn’t had a chance to change their billing address, and so on.

Then again, it could also be a not-so-honest customer with a stolen card and stolen billing address.

2. The order values are abnormally high, with expedited shipping.

Most fraudsters have limited time before their stolen card is canceled. So if they’re going to get away with something, they’ll try to maximize their takings.

This means a HIGH order value plus the fastest shipping option available. As you probably know, expedited shipping can get incredibly steep. Sometimes, it just doesn’t make sense for a shopper to be willing to pay such a high price.

Again, this by itself isn’t a reason to instantly deny the purchase, but be smart about it. Is the “customer” ordering an abnormally large amount of product? Are they paying more for shipping than the product itself? Like, $500 of shipping for a $250 purchase?

3. The billing or shipping address seems a bit… off.

Does the zip code match the area code? Does that address even exist? Check the provided billing address in Google Maps or another mapping service in order to verify the place exists.

RevolutionParts actually provides a link to Google Maps street view next to the shipping address on the order page so dealers can quickly check to see if the location is something strange, like an abandoned house or a fast food restaurant.

Also confirm that the credit card’s issuing country and billing address country are the same. Sometimes, honest customers made an honest typo and there’s no cause for alarm—simply call them to confirm their billing address.

4. The IP address doesn’t match the shipping address.

The IP address can tell you where your customer is ordering from, so it’s suspicious when it doesn’t line up with the other addresses. It’s an especially big red flag if the IP address points toward an entirely different country.

For example, if the IP address claims someone is in New York, but their billing address is listed as Canadian and the shipping address is somewhere in Africa, then that mix of locations should raise an eyebrow.

Sometimes it’s nothing to worry about. Someone living in Canada might be purchasing a part for their friend in the US. Still, it’s outside the norm and should be enough to raise an eyebrow.

RELATED: 5 Unbelievable Examples of Orders that Looked Fraudulent, but Weren’t

5. The IP address points to a high-risk area.

Certain countries and neighborhoods see higher rates of fraud than others. While it shouldn’t be an end-all decider, it’s something to keep in mind when you process orders from a high-risk country that already raise multiple flags for fraud.

SiftScience compiled a list of the top 25 high-risk countries based on a sampling of online transaction data, but the list varies among other studies.

Certain fraud detectors (such as the one on the RevolutionParts platform) will alert you to high-risk areas so you don’t need to memorize a list of risky locations.

6. The order was placed with a Proxy server.

With a Proxy server, Internet users can hide their real IP address and effectively remain anonymous and undetected.

Not everyone uses a Proxy server for evil, but fraudsters definitely like them. It’s an easy way to trick sellers into thinking the “customer” is in New York, rather than in a high risk country like Nigeria or Romania.

7. They have a shady email address.

Would a real customer have an email like j0fds294a9d35@yahoo.com?

Maybe. Probably not. Yeah, it’s pretty unlikely.

It only takes a second to check the customer’s email, and usually the “address” they give you will be a dead giveaway for fraud.

Here’s another pro tip: In general, fraudsters prefer to use free email addresses (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, etc). The majority of your customers will be using these free email addresses too, but at least being aware of this preference can help you spot a problem.

A business address (such as name@revolutionparts.com) can be helpful evidence that an order is legitimate.

8. The shipping address is a PO box.

In order to hide their actual address, many fraudsters set up alternate means of receiving their parts. While it isn’t always the case, PO boxes, drop ship address, and mail forwarding address are typically a sign of fraud.

Some dealerships flat out refuse to ship to these addresses, but it’s up to you to decide.

RELATED: 4 Insights into the Mind of an Online Fraudster

9. The customer didn’t provide a phone number.

As a safety practice to avoid online fraud, always require customers to provide a phone number. This additional information allows you to contact them and confirm their identity.

Fraudsters want to provide you as little accurate information as possible. Even if they provide a number, you should call suspicious-looking orders to confirm that the number is real.

Don’t want to call someone up? Don’t worry—Fraudsters don’t want to talk to you, either. Most of the time, the phone number on a fraudulent order won’t even work, since they just typed in random numbers instead of real contact info.

10. The buyer isn’t verified on PayPal

If a customer is paying though PayPal, you should be aware of whether or not they are a verified member.

Verified members have gone through PayPal’s process in order to establish their identity. Depending on the country, this might mean adding and confirming a bank account. You can read more about Verification from PayPal’s website.

To find this information, go through your History tab on PayPal. And even though an unverified member might raise a red flag, you should also consider other factors such as the length of their PayPal membership and their reputation scores.

In Conclusion

If you’re still having doubts, contact the customer!

Calling will verify they’ve provided you with the correct phone number, AND give you a chance to speak with them, ask questions, and request further confirmation of their identity.

If the customer asks why, simply explain it’s part of your protocol to double-check identification for orders like this.

For more preventative measures:

• Always use shipping tracking numbers. Tracking numbers will prove the package was delivered, in case a customer claims it never arrived.
• For expensive items, require a signature and never leave the package at the door. Sometimes fraudsters will have the product shipped to an abandoned house where they can pick it up without giving away their true location.

Having a secure and reliable eCommerce solution also helps, since it will make your dealership a harder target for fraud. If you look like easy pickings, fraudsters will jump on the opportunity!

If you’re vigilant, aware, and informed, you can reduce fraud significantly!

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in March 2015, but has been updated to include a more in-depth analysis and more accurate information

The post Top 10 Red Flags for Online Fraud on your Parts Website appeared first on RevolutionParts - Sell Parts and Accessories.

But have you ever tried to get inside the head of a fraudster? We know they want to order parts with stolen card information, but they also want to do so as safely and efficiently as possible. Knowing a fraudster’s thought process while they place a fraud order can help you recognize the risk when it arises.

With a powerful Fraud Score tool on your side, it’s a lot easier to spot risky orders and avoid them. Use these tricks to spot a fraudulent order every time one comes in.

1. They have limited time with their stolen card info.

Fraudsters know that they only have a limited amount of time with the card or information they stole. They might only be able to get a single order in before the credit card is canceled by its rightful owner.

This means they want to get as much out of a single order as possible. Fraudsters tend to place high-value orders of a couple hundred or more.

They also want the order to arrive as soon as possible, so they’ll add on expedited shipping. We all know how expensive expedited shipping can get—especially for heavy auto parts.

Not many real customers are willing to pay so much extra to get the part right away. If their car is having an immediate problem, they’d probably just opt to buy a replacement part in a brick-and-motor parts store.

RELATED: 7 Essential Practices to Avoid Online Fraud

2. They probably don’t know much about parts.

Since they want to get as much from their order as possible, they might have gone to your parts website and just clicked to buy your most expensive parts (or just a ton of parts in general). Most likely, they intend to resell the parts, so anything too model-specific won’t be as useful to them.

Is there any sense to their order? Can you guess what their “project” is based on the items they’ve purchased? Did they show any concern about ordering the right part (like entering a VIN)?

This isn’t a guaranteed way to spot a fraudster. A lot of independent body shops get their parts online, and for the most part their orders will be large and include a variety of parts for a variety of vehicles. But combined with other red flags for fraud, you should be able to tell them apart.

3. They don’t want anyone to know who they are or where they live.

It goes without saying that fraudsters don’t want to be caught. It could get them into serious legal trouble if they provided their real contact information. Instead, they’ll make an effort to hide who they are and where they live.

To hide their identity, fraudsters will often:

• Give you false contact info. Take a look at their email address. Is it something strange like 124u37rfiheir@yahoo.com? Who has an email address like that? Fraudsters do.

• Give you a false mailing or billing address. Sometimes, fraudsters will enter the billing address as an empty parking lot, abandoned building, or a fast-food joint. They might even make up an address completely.

For RevolutionParts dealers, there’s a nifty button on the order screen which can bring up a Google Street View image of the billing or shipping address. It’s just one of the many cool features built into the RevolutionParts platform to make selling parts online easier and safer for you.

• Use a proxy server to hide their true location. Not everyone using a proxy is untrustworthy. They can be used maintain privacy, surf the web anonymously, get around region blocks, and so on. But since they hide a shopper’s true location, they can also be used for illegal purposes.

• List a PO box as their mailing address. Again, not everyone using a PO box is doing so illegally. However, we’ve found from our dealers that mailing to a PO box almost always ends in fraud. Be careful!

4. They don’t want to talk to you.

Fraudsters just want to steal some parts and get away with it. They know their orders are illegal and risky for them, so at the first sign of danger, they’ll most likely jump ship.

We strongly recommend trying to contact the customers with high-risk orders. Most of the time, fraudsters will make up a phone number, so your call won’t even go through.

You can also try emailing them. An email address like 124u37rfiheir@yahoo.com probably won’t give a response, since it’s a made-up email. If they do respond, still be cautious. It’s a lot easier and safer to lie over an email than over the phone. At the end of the day, trying to confirm their identity over the phone is the safest way to go.

RELATED: How to NOT get Hacked When Selling Auto Parts Online

There’s no guaranteed way to spot fraud, but there are enough tip-offs to help you made an educated guess. Take a look at our collection of Fraud Prevention articles to help you spot and avoid fraud before you become a victim.

And, of course, a powerful Fraud Score tool like the one built into the RevolutionParts platform. If you want to see the RevolutionParts Fraud Score tool in action, check out this list of 5 Unbelievable Examples of Orders that Looked Fraudulent but Weren’t.

Always remember that it’s okay to cancel the order if you’re still unsure. Some dealers tell us that they’re afraid of upsetting a legitimate customer by canceling a high-risk order that was actually real.

But it’s better to be safe than sorry! If it’s a high-value order and you can’t decide if an order fraud, it’s probably not worth the risk.

The post 4 Insights Into the Mind of an Online Fraudster appeared first on RevolutionParts - Sell Parts and Accessories.

Dealing with fraud can be any parts department’s nightmare. With expensive parts that are heavy with high-cost shipping, fraudulent orders can incur huge losses for your dealership. At the same time, refusing to sell to genuine customers that happen to raise a lot of fraud red flags can cost you sales and customers.

It’s a tough line to balance. Some dealerships will play it safe and refuse business to someone based on a fraud score. And while you need to be careful about who you sell to, sometimes those fraud scores don’t tell the whole truth about a customer.

Listed below, we’ve found 5 buyers that showed up as risky on our RevolutionParts fraud detector. Except in each of these cases, the order went through without a hiccup and weeks or months later, the charge was never disputed.

1. Medium-Low Risk at 35/100

To start off in our analysis of these fraud examples, here’s a simple one. A score of 35 usually isn’t something to worry about, but you should still look into each of these orders just to see what the problem is.

In this case, the fraud detector picked up on something simple. Their billing address is different than the shipping address—in fact, one is in Canada while the other is in the US. The fraud detector also tells us that the shipping address doesn’t match the IP address, which is again, in Canada. Overall it looks like someone in Canada made and paid for the order and shipped it to someone in the US.

Typically, fraudsters try to place expensive orders to squeeze as much out of their stolen information as possible. In this case, the buyer’s purchase was relatively inexpensive—less than $40 after shipping, which can help their case in the eyes of your dealership.

In addition, the last names on the billing and shipping addresses are the same. Of course, a fraudster could be lying about name, but it can still help you imagine a situation in which a man living in Canada is buying auto parts for his brother in the US.

2. Medium Risk at 46/100

International orders typically raise red flags to begin with, so this buyer was doomed to raise some flags with a Colombian IP address, especially since it did not match the US shipping address. Mismatching IP addresses can be a powerful indicator of fraud, so that’s part of why the fraud indicator ranked this order so high.

However, a human eye can give a more in-depth view of this buyer. For example, the RevolutionParts system will show dealerships if that particular customer has shopped with them in the past.

Using that feature we can see that this person has actually completed multiple orders in the past without any issues. Their past orders have a range of risk levels (some high, some medium, some low), so their situation, whatever it may be, changes often. The fact that they are a regular customer should put you at ease about fulfilling the order with them.

3. Moderate High Risk at 66/100

Once again, we have a buyer with a foreign IP address. Worse, the shipping address seems to be in a high-risk part of town and doesn’t correlate with the billing address. This makes for a higher-risk order than the previous example.

Again, however, the situation is similar. By navigating through the order details page, we find that this particular buyer has made multiple problem-free orders over a course of 7 months. Furthermore, their contact information (such as email and phone) looks legitimate so you can call them at any time to confirm their identity.

4. High Risk at 74/100

The list of red flags on this example seems a lot shorter than the one above, and yet the risk is higher. What gives?

Our fraud detector noticed that the customer’s IP address is being hidden by a proxy. While there are many honest reasons an individual might use a proxy, many people use it for shady purposes, too. This single bullet point for “Proxy Detection” carries a lot of weight in determining a fraud score.

Luckily, however, the customer provided legitimate email and phone numbers. When an order looks suspicious, it’s always a good idea to call the customer and confirm their identity.

Sometimes you can also check the items being purchased to see if they make sense together. In this case, the customer was buying brakes and brake pads—two items bought together all the time. This can indicate to you that their need for parts is genuine, and give more authenticity to their order as a result.

Human eyes can check for part compatibility with much more ease than a computer, so it’s something you can do to put your mind at ease.

5. High Risk at 86/100

Over 80 points on the fraud detector is starting to look really suspicious, but perhaps we shouldn’t jump to conclusions.

A request for expedited shipping is incredibly common among cases of fraud, because fraudsters want to receive the parts before their inauthenticity is detected. You should be especially suspicious when expedited shipping is paired with a high order value shipment.

The RevolutionParts fraud detector makes it easy to look up the customer shipping address in Google Maps. If you go into Street View only to see that their “address” is a hotel or an empty field, then you know something’s wrong. The customer in the example listed their address as an auto repair shop, which makes sense.

Sometimes dealers put an order on hold until they can confirm authenticity. This is fine as long as you contact the customer and let them know. If you still can’t safely decide if an order is fraud, don’t be afraid to cancel it!

Conclusion

Even using these tricks, you should always contact the customer for cases of high risk. High-price orders with expedited shipping are a sign of fraud in 99% of cases, so don’t take this example as an excuse to ignore these warning signs.

It’s not impossible to avoid online fraud as long as you know what steps you can take to reduce your chances. At the same time, customers can have a unique situation that makes their order seem fraudulent when it’s actually not. When an order shows a high fraud risk score, take a minute to analyze the details before you refuse to sell.

Immediately labeling a suspicious order as fraud can cost you a good sale when the customer ends up as genuine. By labeling them as a fraudster when they’re not, you not only lose the sale but also that customer—forever. It doesn’t take long to call or send an email, and performing a few checks can go a long way in putting your mind at ease.

The post 5 Unbelievable Examples of Orders that Looked Fraudulent but Weren’t appeared first on RevolutionParts - Sell Parts and Accessories.