Business owners should stay alert for card fraud

A payment card fraud scheme popular in the late 90s and early 2000s has recently resurfaced in France and is affecting an American branch of the International Airline Employees Federal Credit Union. Instead of using stolen credit card numbers, the fraudsters are using the credit union's bank identification numbers to create new cards, CUInfoSecurity.com reports. So far, the fraudulent cards are only being used to make small charges that are too low for chargeback rights to be effective. "Chargebacks can be the most frustrating aspect of a business," said Greg Wooten, chief executive officer of US Digital Transaction Corporation. "The merchant must comply with regulations set forth by the card associations to refute the chargeback and most often the merchant ends up losing the revenue." Merchants and small businesses can protect themselves from fraud with chargeback recovery services, which are useful in instances of friendly fraud - when a customer knowingly refuses a charge he or she made. Requiring identity verification at the point of sale can also stop identity thieves from using stolen cards to make purchases, resulting in legitimate chargebacks from consumers.