How to spot a stolen-card order before you ship

When someone pays with a stolen card, the real cardholder eventually disputes the charge. The sale is reversed as a chargeback, you usually lose the item and the money, and your payment processor may charge a fee. Small stores feel each one.

The shipping address is far from the billing address, or is a package-forwarding or reshipping service. The order is for several units of an easy-to-resell, high-value item. The buyer chooses the fastest shipping regardless of cost. Several orders or card attempts come in within a short time. The email address looks newly made, with random letters and numbers. The buyer asks to change the shipping address after ordering, or to send the package somewhere other than the address on the order.

None of these proves fraud, and plenty of real customers trigger one of them. Look for several together, especially on expensive orders.

Look at the address and security-code checks your payment processor shows on the order; a mismatch is a meaningful signal. Contact the buyer through the email or phone number on the order and ask a simple question about the purchase. Look up the shipping address to see whether it’s a residence, business or forwarding service. For orders that still look off, you can hold or cancel and refund before shipping, which costs far less than a chargeback.

For high-value orders, use tracking and signature confirmation. Don’t reroute a package to a new address at the buyer’s request after it ships. Keep the order, payment and shipping records together.

Respond through your payment processor before its deadline with your evidence: the order details, tracking and delivery confirmation, any signature, and your messages with the buyer. A clear, dated record makes a big difference.