Chargeback dispute management specialist, Chargebacks911, has launched a new ebook to help merchants navigate emerging fraud and chargeback risks during this year’s seasonal sales days, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The ebook, entitled “The Chargeback Holiday Handbook, Minimizing Fraud and the Impacts of COVID-19 During the Peak Sales Season” offers insight into the shopping, fraud and chargeback trends which have been driven by the pandemic, including the current threats to merchant revenues.

It gives readers a clear action plan for mitigating payment disputes, explaining best practices for putting preventative measures in place, identifying the cause of chargebacks and challenging friendly fraud. It also gives them practical advice on how to adapt their businesses so data is used for effective protection against chargebacks. 

Chargebacks911 has released the ebook at a time when some industries have been left facing 10 times the number of payment disputes than prior to the outbreak, while non-fraud chargeback issuances were up 23% globally in June when compared with the same time last year. As highlighted by the ebook, the sudden spike in chargebacks, friendly fraud and criminal fraud throughout the pandemic has taken place for several reasons.

With lockdown restrictions in place and customers buying goods from the safety of their homes, companies across all industries have been forced to go digital and there has been a 74% growth in online shopping since COVID-19 began. As a result, the bustling online space has become fertile ground for criminal fraud and chargebacks – with growing levels now remaining higher than usual due to increased online spending.

The problem has been exacerbated by changes in consumer behaviour that took place during the pandemic, as panicked consumers impacted by furlough or job losses, are now turning to chargebacks to recoup money. What’s more, as they are shielded by online anonymity, while there is no-one to confirm that a package arrived safely at the point of exchange, friendly fraud has become increasingly easier to commit and is a growing problem.

These trends will be prevalent throughout this year’s seasonal period including during and following peak sales days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The practical tips and advice throughout the ebook aim to help merchants defend themselves against these risks.

Don Bush, VP of Sales and Marketing at Chargebacks911, explained: “We’re going into the 2020 ‘golden’ season under completely different circumstances. Consumer shopping habits are different, transaction volumes have been bolstered in unusual ways and fraud trends are morphing. While there’s great opportunities to be had, it’s also a highly risky environment for merchants and adds another layer of complexity to their planning for the period.”

He continues: “Higher online order volumes often mean higher online fraud rates and increased chargebacks, and we’ve seen industries across the board suffering losses as a result of that this year. It’s vital merchants don’t sit back and accept these losses as simply a cost of doing business. We expect the rise to continue, even as the world attempts to return to some form of normality – and merchants need to do everything they can to protect revenues and ensure that this usually profitable time of year doesn’t become a costly disaster.”

To gain access to the ebook and be automatically registered for the webinar on the 17^th November click here.