Understanding Chargeback Fraud
Chargeback fraud (also called friendly fraud or first-party fraud) occurs when a customer makes a legitimate purchase, receives the product, and then disputes the charge with their bank claiming the transaction was unauthorized, the item wasn't received, or the product was significantly different from described.
This forces the merchant to refund the purchase amount plus chargeback fees, while the customer keeps the product. Excessive chargebacks can result in payment processor penalties or account termination.
Why Chargeback Fraud Matters for Shopify Stores
Chargeback fraud is one of the most costly threats to Shopify stores. Geographic blocking and traffic analysis can help reduce exposure by blocking orders from high-fraud regions and suspicious traffic sources.
How SecurEcommerce Helps with Chargeback Fraud
IP Blocking
Block malicious traffic by IP address, range, country, region, or ISP
- • Individual IP address blocking
- • IP range (CIDR notation) blocking
- • Country-level blocking with bulk selection
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between friendly fraud and true fraud?
True fraud involves stolen credit cards used by criminals. Friendly fraud is when the actual cardholder makes a purchase and then falsely disputes it. Both result in chargebacks.
How can I fight chargebacks?
Document everything - delivery confirmation, customer communications, product descriptions. Use tools like Shopify's chargeback protection, and block traffic from high-fraud regions to prevent future incidents.