Uptick in Potentially Fraudulent Chargebacks on Account

[SunnySideKitche]

The title of this thread has been edited by a Square Moderator from the original: why did i get 4 charge backs this morning? people claiming they have no knowledge of the charge.

this morning I got 4 disputed credit card charges. four? has to be a scam. I got this twice in the past 10 years and even though I provided evidence lost the battle. should I even bother fighting? any way I can ban these credit cards from charging again? advice? these were most likely call in orders

[ryanwanner · Accepted solution]

Hello @SunnySideKitche !

Ugh. These scammers are THE WORST. I'm sorry you're going through this, especially with 4 of them.

I would recommend contesting them via Square, even if there is a chance you will lose the dispute. Especially if there are this many, somebody somewhere should notice a pattern and dig a little deeper. Be sure you give all the info you can: the way the card was taken (manual, tapped, dipped, or online), who did the transaction so if there are additional questions you know who to talk to, if the order was fulfilled, camera footage if available, and whatever other information you can offer.

For call in orders, I usually recommend just waiting until they arrive to collect payment, but of course that runs you into other issues. You could always create a payment link, where you build the order then text the payment link to the cust. They enter their card info then. You can then put Square's Risk Manager in place to watch for suspicious cards. Just be sure to make it clear that you won't start the order until the payment is completed.

I really hope some developers are sitting in a room somewhere figuring out a way for us to catch these scammers before they strike. This type of scam is becoming quite a problem for all of the merchant processors out there.

[Sammie_C]

Hi @SunnySideKitche, I appreciate you reaching out and I am sorry to hear you have been having to deal with these chargebacks. Thank you for all this insight, @ryanwanner. I agree with all of your suggestions.

Going through the process of contesting these charges would be the first best step, and your bank will have the final say on whether these disputes are legitimate.

Here are a few helpful resources on the Disputes process itself, if you are not familiar: 

1.  Preparing documents to challenge disputes
2.  How to Prevent Payment Disputes

In regard to banning or marking specific suspicious cards, as @ryanwanner mentions, going through Square's Risk Manager would be a good step. Here you can monitor potentially fraudulent cards.

Please let me know if you end up having any other questions on this or anything else Square.