company an order using the fake e-mail ac-
count and a stolen credit card number.
You can determine whether an e-mail address. is from a free service by typing "www" in front of the domain name of the e-mail address into -
your browser. This will direct you to a Web site where yOU can verify whether the e-mail is
from an ISP or non-ISP domain. You can alko check a list of free e-mail services at www.an-
tifraud.com/redflag.htm.
4. Pay particular attention to orders that are
larger than your typical order amount and to
orders with next-day delivery.
5 Take extra steps to validate international or-
ders-before you ship your product to a differ-
ent country, especially if the "ship to" address is different from the "bill to" address.
6. If you are suspicious about an order, call back
the customer to confirm it.
7. If possible, use software or services such as
Cybersource and Clear Commerce Corporation to fight credit card fraud on-line.
8. If you find out that you have been scammed by
a credit card thief, you should notify your mer-
chant account processor immediately. You
should then inform the legitimate cardholder
that his or her card number has been stolen.
Many people aren't even aware that their ac-
count numbers have been stolen.
Source: Audri and Urn Lanford, "Eight Sure-Fire Strategies Any Business Owner Can Use to Reduce Credit Card Fraud," Internet Scan/busters'', Issue no 23, May 31, 1998 (www_scambusters org).