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The second article in this series, "Protecting Yourself Against Online Fraud," provides tips for detecting and preventing fraudulent transactions. This article takes you one step closer to becoming a fraud buster, by showing you how and where to report suspected incidents of online fraud.
Note: If you or someone you know suspects that certain individuals are involved in committing online fraud, or if you feel that you have knowingly or unwittingly participated in a fraudulent online transaction, we urge you to contact the proper authorities immediately. Depending on where you live, you may need to contact your local police or your state's Attorney General.
For information on adding IP-capture capability to your eCommerce-enabled site, visit http://www.php.net/manual/en/security.registerglobals.php
Note: The official process of filing a complaint with the FBI starts with the Internet Crime Complaints Center (IC3). Filing a complaint with IC3 is the same as contacting the FBI directly!
About the Author:
Tyson Wanlass is an expert at identifying and combating online fraud. As Doba's Manager of Fraud Protection (http://www.doba.com), Tyson oversees sophisticated risk models and advanced proprietary technologies that aid in the company's fight to eliminate fraudulent transactions. Considered an expert among his peers, Tyson previously worked in Silicon Valley as a Fraud Analyst for both eBay and PayPal.
Busting the Bad Guys: Reporting Online Fraud
by Tyson Wanlass, Manager of Fraud Protection - Doba
It takes a village to curb online fraud. Merchants, consumers, businesses, and law enforcement all need to work together to devise better methods for preventing fraud and catching, prosecuting, and punishing the criminals.The second article in this series, "Protecting Yourself Against Online Fraud," provides tips for detecting and preventing fraudulent transactions. This article takes you one step closer to becoming a fraud buster, by showing you how and where to report suspected incidents of online fraud.
Note: If you or someone you know suspects that certain individuals are involved in committing online fraud, or if you feel that you have knowingly or unwittingly participated in a fraudulent online transaction, we urge you to contact the proper authorities immediately. Depending on where you live, you may need to contact your local police or your state's Attorney General.
Keeping records
To provide law enforcement agents with the information they need to thoroughly investigate alleged incidents of online fraud, keep any records associated with the suspect transactions, including the following items:- Email messages: Keep the actual messages on your computer. Most email messages include additional information that you may not see in a printout. By keeping the actual messages in your email program, you preserve all available data needed to track down the computer from which the email message originated.
- Invoices or receipts: Save any invoices or receipts, which may contain valuable information in addition to providing you with written reminders of the transaction's history.
- Phone conversations: A written record, including the dates, times, and names of the people you talked with are often sufficient for filing a complaint or disputing a claim.
- Customer IP addresses: As an online merchant, you can capture the IP address of any computer from which an order originates. This address can help authorities track down the computer and possibly even the perpetrator. See the next section "Capturing your customers' IP addresses" for details.
Capturing your customers' IP addresses
Every computer connected to the Internet has a unique IP address that identifies that computer. By capturing your customers' IP addresses when they visit your site, you can assist law enforcement in tracking down the computer from which a fraudulent order was placed. Simply capturing a customer's IP address and displaying it prominently on the customer's screen is often sufficient to deter would-be criminals.For information on adding IP-capture capability to your eCommerce-enabled site, visit http://www.php.net/manual/en/security.registerglobals.php
Taking action: Reporting fraudulent transactions
In the event that you become a victim of fraud or suspect that one of your "customers" is attempting to commit fraud, take the necessary steps to report the incident:- Inform Doba's Fraud Department immediately. If quickly identified, Doba will work with our suppliers and shippers to prevent any items you ordered from reaching the fraudster. Doba's Fraud Department can be contacted directly by email at fraud@doba.com or call 877-321-DOBA between 7 am and 8 pm MST.
- Report the incident to your transaction platform and payment processor. Ensuring that both your transaction platform—for example, eBay, Yahoo! Auctions, or Overstock.com and payment processor are aware of the situation greatly increases your chances of recovering lost or stolen funds and goes a long way in preventing the same fraudster from scamming other sellers:
- Contact local and state law enforcement. Ensuring that the proper authorities are aware of your situation will assist in prosecutorial efforts. If you know where the fraudster lives, report the situation to his or her local and state law enforcement officials as well.
- File a complaint with your state's office of the Attorney General. Making sure that your state Attorney General's office is aware of your situation may also assist in prosecutorial efforts that lead to shutting down the scam. For a state-by-state list of Attorneys General, visit the National Association of Attorneys General.
- File a complaint with the following government-supported agencies. Doing so aggregates multiple victims for prosecutorial efforts and aids in the effort to educate sellers about the latest trends in online fraud prevention:
Note: The official process of filing a complaint with the FBI starts with the Internet Crime Complaints Center (IC3). Filing a complaint with IC3 is the same as contacting the FBI directly!
Tyson Wanlass is an expert at identifying and combating online fraud. As Doba's Manager of Fraud Protection (http://www.doba.com), Tyson oversees sophisticated risk models and advanced proprietary technologies that aid in the company's fight to eliminate fraudulent transactions. Considered an expert among his peers, Tyson previously worked in Silicon Valley as a Fraud Analyst for both eBay and PayPal.
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