Fraud Recognition and Prevention Tips:

 

For Booksellers

 

Although the majority of booksellers and book buyers are undoubtedly honest and responsible individuals, it remains important that each of us recognise potential risks associated with Internet commerce.

We advise booksellers to carefully review all orders before processing, particularly those that display the following traits:

  • Orders from African and former Eastern Block countries.
  • Orders placed by buyers with free e-mail accounts (such as hotmail, yahoo, etc).
  • Large volume orders; these orders generally contain orders for the same title, classification of book, or are for ‘hot ticket’ items.
  • Expensive orders.
  • Buyer's contact information, including name and phone number, doesn’t appear to correlate with the client's geographic location (i.e. Henry Smith, Nigeria).
  • Invalid shipping address (i.e. Lagos, Denmark).
  • Invalid contact information.

 

These factors alone do not confirm that a client is fraudulent or suspicious; instead they should be used as indicators warranting further investigation.

 

Verify Shipping Addresses:

Does the zip code/postal code match the city provided in an address? If you are unfamiliar with the name of the city, check that the city name exists within the country. Your local post office, along with the Web sites below, can be used to confirm that this information is correct.


Some fraudulent transactions are placed using obviously invalid shipping addresses. Please take the time to check that the address is valid.

Another way to check the validity of an address is to do a reverse look-up of the phone number (if provided) to verify that it is associated with the shipping address. To do so, you may find the following links helpful:

 


Verify Payment Methods:

Credit Cards:

AbeBooks processes all Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and JCB transactions on your behalf. All credit card transactions processed through the AbeBooks checkout are covered by AbeBooks fraud protection; we will cover all chargebacks that result from the fraudulent use of a card.

Checks, PayPal, Money Orders:

If you accept any of these payment methods, be sure that payment has been received before shipping the order. In the case of a check, make sure that the funds have cleared before shipping.

Track or Insure Your Packages:

Adding insurance or tracking information to your shipments can protect you against false claims of non-delivery. You may contact a buyer to request additional charges to cover this cost, if needed. Many booksellers insure or add tracking to all orders valued over a predetermined amount.

Expensive Orders:

If you receive a high value order, you can contact the buyer using the email address displayed on the right-hand side of the order screen before confirming availability. This personal contact with the buyer gives you the opportunity to make arrangements for special shipping and handling procedures, and if the buyer fails to respond, this may be indicative of a fraudulent or invalid purchase.

Notify AbeBooks Customer Support:

If you believe you have received an invalid order, please send the order details, along with your reasons for suspicion, to AbeBooks Customer Support. The AbeBooks Security and Trust team will investigate the order and, if necessary, take action to prevent future fraudulent incidents. It is important to note that booksellers are financially responsible for the outcome of the order if the payment was not processed by AbeBooks.

To assist us with our investigation, please be sure to include:

  • The AbeBooks purchase order number.
  • A description of what you believe to be suspicious about the order.
  • The steps you have taken to investigate the order. Have you verified the address/phone number and if so, how? Have you attempted to contact the buyer by e-mail or phone? Did they respond to you? If so, what did they say?
  • Any relevant correspondence, including faxes or e-mails that contain important details.

 

Reporting Fraud

Law Enforcement - Contacting AbeBooks Security and Trust

Return to AbeBooks Security & Trust

 

Disclaimer: The information on these pages is for advisory purposes only and does not constitute instructions or directives. Booksellers and book buyers are ultimately responsible for protecting themselves, their business, and their purchases from fraudulent practices. AbeBooks does not guarantee the information contained in these pages will prevent or shield booksellers or book buyers from fraud.