5 Ways to Combat ‘Friendly Fraud’
Identity theft and consumer fraud are synonymous with internet scams. From complaint boards to value-added upsells solicited by credit card companies, when it comes to fraudulent online activity, the most common offender is seen as a vicious criminal.
However, a different type of fraud is taking the lion's share of this nomenclature by storm, boasting an explosive growth rate when it comes to online transactions. The criminal behind the scenes is one who is very rarely recognized. "Friendly Fraud," a term coined to define the act of a consumer making an online purchase and then contacting their bank stating that the transaction wasn't their doing, resulting in a chargeback, has become the No. 1 enemy to online merchants today. Friendly fraud is difficult to target or treat because the criminal is a consumer who is normally the least suspected, protected behind a guise of rationale, subjective interpretation or even naive ignorance of the fact that there are gross consequences for their actions.
Monica Eaton is the founder and CEO of Chargebacks911 and Fi911, as well as Chief Information Officer of Global Risk Technologies. Monica has worked tirelessly to educate merchants and financial institutions about hidden threats in the rapidly changing payment fraud landscape. Leading Chargebacks911, was founded in Tampa Bay, Florida, expanding internationally also to become Europe’s first chargeback remediation specialist to tackle the chargeback fraud problem. In ten years, Chargebacks911 has successfully protected more than 10 billion online transactions and has recovered over $1 billion in chargeback fraud.
Recognizing that the impact of chargebacks goes beyond merchants, Fi911 provides unrivaled support to financial institutions with innovative back-office management technologies. Fi911’s pioneering DisputeLab™ tool streamlines chargeback management for acquirers, automating legacy processes and standardizing methods that simplify and speed the end-to-end workflow, improving the customer experience and accountability for all stakeholders.
Monica is a passionate diversity advocate committed to developing and sharing innovative solutions that empower the global fintech space. She has earned numerous awards, distinctions and special recognitions, including the Retail Systems Awards, where she received the ‘Outstanding Individual Achievement Award’ and was named ‘Global Leader of the Year’ at the Women in IT Awards.
