PayPal Here: help protect yourself against credit card fraud

• If you received a fraudulent payment, you could be held financially responsible.

• Nobody knows your business as well as you. You know your biggest customers and are familiar with their buying patterns. No payment processor will ever know these things as well as you, so your involvement in risk management is essential.

Swipe the card.

The best way to help protect yourself against fraud is to swipe the card through your PayPal Here card reader instead of manually entering the card number. Since the magnetic stripe includes built-in security features that aren’t available for manually entered transactions, swiping cards reduces the chances of fraud.

Phone payments: If you typically accept payments over the phone, Virtual Terminal may be a better choice for your business. It was specifically designed for businesses that take payments over the phone, fax, or mail order.

Keyed and scanned payments: Entering the customer’s zip code helps protect you from fraud. Be aware that the transaction fee is slightly higher when you manually enter card numbers, and payments you receive may not be available right away.

Verify the signature.

Make sure the customer’s signature on the sales receipt matches the card signature and the name on the front of the card.

No signature: If the card isn’t signed, ask for a driver’s license or other photo ID to help verify the customer’s identity.

Verify your credit card statement name.

Make sure your business name is clear on debit or credit card statements. If customers don’t recognize a charge on their statement, they may think that the charge was fraudulent and open an unauthorized chargeback.

Ask for driver’s license or photo ID.

If a customer places an unusually large order, or if you suspect that a card might be fraudulent, ask for the customer’s ID. The name on the photo ID should match the name on the card.

No driver’s license: Ask the customer for another form of ID. If you don’t want to risk the loss and the order seems suspicious, consider declining the sale.

Photo ID doesn’t match: If the name on the ID doesn’t match the name on the card, consider declining the sale. For your safety, stay calm and don’t tell the customer that you suspect fraud. Instead, just let them know you can’t accept the sale.

Post your return policy.

Post your return policy in a visible place in your store so customers can read it before they pay for their orders. Also include your return policy on the sales receipt. If you’re using PayPal Here, you can include your return policy on your printed receipts. Set this up by going to your app settings and selecting “Printing.”

Invoice: If you don’t have a physical store, you can include your return policy on the invoice; you should also include the date, description of the item or service, number of items purchased, sale amount, and customer’s signature.