How to prevent stolen credit card orders on Shopify

Stolen credit card fraud is when someone pays on your store with a card number that isn't theirs. The order looks normal until the real cardholder disputes the charge weeks later, and you lose the product, the payment and a chargeback fee on top.

Warning signs

Shopify's fraud analysis marks the order high risk
Your payment provider reports a failed address or security-code check
Several different cards used on orders shipping to one address
Expensive items, maximum quantities and rush shipping on a first order
Several declined payment attempts just before the order went through

How to prevent it on Shopify

Things any merchant can do, with or without an app.

Read Shopify's fraud analysis on every order and don't fulfill high-risk ones until you've checked them
Turn on your payment provider's address and security-code checks, and 3D Secure where it's available
Contact the customer, or cancel and refund, before shipping an order you doubt. Refunding is cheaper than a chargeback
Keep a record of every chargeback's email, name and address so the same person can't order again

AI-powered fraud detection

What Interceptor does about it

Puts every order Shopify rates high risk into one review queue, tagged and held so it can't ship by accident
Flags addresses where several different cards are shipping, a common footprint of stolen cards
Once you mark an order fraud, the same email, name or address is flagged on future orders, and AI catches slightly changed versions

What it doesn't do: Interceptor doesn't process payments or decline cards at checkout; your payment provider does that. It doesn't run its own address or security-code checks. It works on the order after it's placed and before you ship.

Questions

Does Shopify already detect stolen cards?

Shopify gives each order a fraud risk rating, which is a good start. Interceptor uses that rating and adds checks across your orders, like many cards at one address and repeat offenders, then holds risky orders so they can't ship by accident.

Should I cancel an order I think was paid with a stolen card?

If you're confident, cancel and refund before shipping. A refund costs you nothing extra, while a chargeback costs the product, the payment and a fee. If you're unsure, hold the order and contact the customer first.

Who pays when a stolen card is used on my store?

Usually the merchant. For online orders the card network sends the loss back to you as a chargeback, unless the payment was authenticated with something like 3D Secure.