Introduction to fraud

If a cardholder does not authorize a specific transaction, that transaction is considered fraudulent. Below are several common types of online payment fraud:

• Stolen card fraud: Fraudsters use stolen valid card information to make unauthorized purchases.
• Card testing fraud: Fraudsters perform a large number of small-value payments on different websites to test whether stolen card numbers are valid, paving the way for subsequent large-scale fraudulent transactions.
• Friendly fraud: Initiated by legitimate cardholders who, after completing a purchase, falsely claim to the issuing bank that the transaction was not made by them.

When cardholders find unauthorized transactions on their billing statements, they usually file a dispute with their issuing bank. If the bank’s investigation confirms that the transaction was fraudulent, the merchant will bear the corresponding financial losses, including the transaction amount, the cost of goods or services delivered, and any related dispute handling fees.

In addition, the issuing bank may report confirmed or suspected fraudulent transactions to card networks such as Visa and Mastercard. These organizations then share the information with merchants as an early warning of potential stolen-card fraud risks. Antom consolidates fraud notifications from major card networks and generates unified fraud report. Card networks continuously monitor a merchant’s risk level based on dispute and fraud statistics. If the number of disputes or fraud cases exceeds thresholds defined by the networks, the merchant may be placed under monitoring programs. Once flagged, the merchant could face fines or other penalties.

Therefore, when handling online payment transactions, merchants must fully understand fraud tactics and potential risks. Implementing effective risk control measures not only reduces financial losses caused by fraud, but also protects brand reputation and ensures sustainable business operations. Building a robust risk prevention and control system is both a safeguard for business security and a foundation for providing customers with a safe and reliable transaction environment.

About the fraud report

The fraud report provides merchants with an overview of potentially fraudulent transactions reported by cardholders. The report aggregates fraud data received from issuing banks through the following sources:

• Visa TC40 Report
• Mastercard SAFE Report

The fraud reporting systems in Visa and Mastercard aim to alert merchants to transactions that may involve stolen-card fraud, helping them identify risks early. In practice, issuing banks report confirmed or suspected fraudulent transactions to the respective card schemes (Visa and Mastercard). The card networks then pass these reports to merchants.

Transactions listed in the report are not necessarily final confirmed chargeback frauds — their primary purpose is to serve as early warnings for potential fraudulent activity.

Report parameters

The fraud report is automatically generated every day at 07:00:00 GMT. The following table describes the report parameters: