High Risk Transaction - HELP ME!

allvintage
Tourist
12 0 1

So today an order came into my store for $4,000, which is a big order for me--it is one item.  It was flagged as high risk, but i didn't see any problems with the name and credit card and fulfilled the order.  Shopify emailed me an said that they would be holding payments for four months.

I'm not sure what to do here.  The order is flagged as this:

Characteristics of this order are similar to fraudulent orders observed in the past

And there is a different billing and shipping address--but the names match up with the credit card used and the IP matches where it is being shipped.  Everything else on the credit card matches up.

I'm not sure what to do here?  Do i go try to intercept this at the post office tomorrow morning?  Is this risk system just being overly protective?  I have no idea honestly. 

Please HELP This is URGENT!!

Replies 5 (5)

Beacon-Jason
Shopify Partner
284 17 61

Hi @allvintage 

Your question sounds very similar to a recent post I answered just yesterday.

https://community.shopify.com/c/Payments-Shipping-Fulfillment/Shopify-holding-payments-for-120-days-...

Fraudulent orders can happen for wide a variety of reasons and Shopify's system is known to incorrectly flag orders. Treat it as a warning system. With this said, it seems like you are using Shopify payments and because Shopify has classified this as a high-risk order, they put your payment on hold for 120 days just in case a chargeback case might come up within the 120-day window.

You really only have two options since you already shipped the item out.

1: If you can retrieve your item back from the post office, then do it and ask the customer to pay you through a different method. IE PayPal

2: wait out the 120 days until Shopify releases your fund. 

Decrease fraudulent orders, stop chargebacks with Beacon. The most customizable fraud and risk management system built for Shopify businesses

https://apps.shopify.com/beacon
allvintage
Tourist
12 0 1

Thanks Jason, I think I will try to at least contact the post office tomorrow and try to stop the package from being sent.  I'm doing some of my own research as well and have asked the person to provide me with a phone number so that I can call them.

Do you know how this game is played?  I'm seeing that for this order the person has a different shipping and billing address.  But the name for both is the same.  I was under the impression that these would likely be stolen credit cards where someone is trying to ship themselves the item.  Is this true?  I'm sure there are different circumstances, but I wasn't sure if this is what is going on with these high risk cases.

Also, if they paid via Paypal, I guess they could do the same thing right?  Just try to claim that the package wasn't sent or something like that?

As a seller, how do I actually protect myself against chargebacks?  I mean, if I ship a product worth a certain value, shouldn't it be the other party still responsible?

Beacon-Jason
Shopify Partner
284 17 61

HI @allvintage 

If you can actually reach out and speak to them, that would give you a bit more assurance that the customer is a legitimate one. Just a quick tip, you should enable the option to require a phone number when the customer checkouts. https://blog.lizuna.com/how-to-configure-your-shopify-settings-to-better-reduce-fraud-orders/

Throughout my years in this industry, I've seen many ways bad actors try to get away with theft including going as far as providing a fake ID when asked. Smart actors will try to mask themselves to look like a normal buyer. They do all they can to hide their real information and location. While a different billing and shipping address does raise suspicion, it's not the best indicator of the intent since most people use their billing address that should match with their CC info while the shipping address is where the customer currently resides.

Yes, any payment processor you work with will hold the fund if they deem your transaction is unsafe, but different companies have different policies regarding this so it's best to do your own research. The PayPal option is just an example and depending on your history with them, they will not hold your funds if it's not necessary.

Finally, as a seller, you should learn who your typical customers are and learn to spot abnormal suspicious behaviors like the article I posted above. Here is an additional article to help you.  https://blog.lizuna.com/scale-your-shopify-business-without-worrying-about-fraud-what-you-need-to-kn...

https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/orders/fraud-analysis

Finally, if you have not done so, try out Shopify's free "fraud filter" app where you can block out bad customers manually. If you need a much more advanced system, you can try out our app, Beacon. Link below.

I hope this helps you just a tiny bit. 

Decrease fraudulent orders, stop chargebacks with Beacon. The most customizable fraud and risk management system built for Shopify businesses

https://apps.shopify.com/beacon
allvintage
Tourist
12 0 1

Thanks Jason for all the information.  I will certainly consider using your service. 

So, i'm 100% confident this order is a fraudulent order.  They provided a number, I spoke to her and was not confident in my discussions.

I then found the property owner of where the item is being shipped and the resident name did not match who it is being shipped to.

Now, my issue is that I idiotically sent it via USPS yesterday--- I'm trying to intercept the package, but I know this is not 100% foolproof.  The owner of the property has put his tenants on high alert.

What should I do in this situation?  What do you think the scammers are doing?  Are they planning to steal the package from the mailbox?  I did put 'Signature Required' on the shipment. 

Should I maybe threaten the scammer, tell them that the police are watching the house and waiting for them?  

Or is there some other way they try to get a hold of the package on its way to the destination?

Beacon-Jason
Shopify Partner
284 17 61

Hi @allvintage 

Unfortunately, there is not much you can do if you already sent out the package. If you can get a hold of the receiver, you can ask them to deny the package and let USPS ship it back to you. Oftentimes, the receiver is also being scammed as well, as they are paid to resend the package elsewhere. It's one of those "work from home and get paid" scams that often go on. 

You should keep a record of the bad actor's data and keep it for reference. Add them to the block list where they would not be able to attempt another repeat purchase. Oftentimes, bad-actor parses through credit card numbers to see which works and not necessarily care if they receive the item or not. 

And finally, be prepared to collect all data evidence just in case you do get a filled chargeback. Once a chargeback is filed, there is very little chance that you will recover the money.

 

Decrease fraudulent orders, stop chargebacks with Beacon. The most customizable fraud and risk management system built for Shopify businesses

https://apps.shopify.com/beacon