The fight against fraud requires all people involved in a transaction to be vigilant. Fraud can mean an assortment of offenses, for example, using a stolen credit card you are not authorized to use to make a purchase. Merchants are also committing a fraudulent activity when not fulfilling their customer’s orders.

ProPay has systems in place that monitor transactions and accounts continuously. Through this procedure, ProPay is able to help prevent fraudulent transactions and help protect our merchants. However, it is imperative that our merchants also actively monitor and review their transactions.

There are a few simple tasks that can help protect a merchant from becoming the victim of fraud. First, make sure you obtain the cardholders billing address. You will want to use that address when processing the transaction. With each transaction you process, you will receive an AVS (Address Verification Service) code. This code helps you know whether or not this is the address the cardholder’s bank has on file for the account. The second step is to make sure you always ship to the verified billing address. If you receive an ‘N’ it is recommended that you reach out to your customer to get the correct billing address prior to fulfillment. We also recommend shipping with delivery confirmation. Having as much documentation for each processed transaction will help fight against a possible chargeback to the account. A third step is to enter the card verification value 2, CVV2, for each transaction. This number is found on the back side of the card and is another source which can be verified through AVS. The AVS codes are listed below for your reference.

Fraudulent activity is a constant factor and requires not only merchants, but processors to be dedicated in fighting the trend of data thieves capturing sensitive information.  Fraud is not limited to only a couple of processors and only some merchants. ProPay is constantly working to prevent fraud causing losses to our merchants. This is an ongoing fight and not one that ProPay will ever take lightly.

If you would like ProPay to work with you to verify the billing address for a credit card, please contact our knowledgeable and friendly customer service at 1-866-573-0951.

AVS Code Definition
A Street address matches, but 5-digit and 9-digit postal code do not match.
N Street address and postal code do not match.
Y Street address and 5-digit postal code match.
Z Street address does not match, but 5-digit postal code matches.

 

Jesse Hutcheon