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Fraud is on the rise and you’re the first line of defence to safeguard your business. Here are some tips to help keep your business safe.

How can I keep my business safe from fraud?

1. Follow the rules

Always stick to the terms of your merchant agreement and the rules set out by each of the card schemes. 

2. Only process genuine cardholders

Make sure a payment is made by the rightful cardholder. An authorisation will not guarantee payment if it is not made by the genuine cardholder. We recommend taking steps to check the identity of the cardholder where possible. 

3. Minimise chargebacks

Be aware of how and why chargebacks may occur to help minimise risk.

4. Refund right

Only process refunds to the card that the initial sale was made on to protect yourself from refund scams.

5. Protect targeted goods

Be careful handing over or shipping goods such as electrical goods, jewellery and computers. Fraudsters often make such purchases with stolen cards - as these items can often be resold quickly and easily. 

6. Keep data secure

It is your responsibility to ensure your customers’ payment details remain safe and secure. Learn more at Your Guide to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCIDSS)

7. Be scam aware

Keep up with the types of scams that could impact your business with Scam Watch and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC).

What are the types of fraud?

Terminal takeover

What is a terminal takeover?

A terminal takeover happens when a customer tampers with and takes control of your EFTPOS machine and uses it to carry out fraudulent activities.    


How can I prevent terminal takeover? 

  • Always keep your terminal in sight. 
  • Educate your frontline staff about this type of fraud
  • Make sure your customers only use the terminal keys to enter a pin, not a card number.
  • And ensure you have the Mail Order and Telephone Order (MOTO) functionality disabled when it is not needed, or you may be liable for chargebacks. If you need help to disable MOTO functionality, please contact our Merchant Helpdesk on 1800 029 749.

Card fraud

How to detect and prevent card fraud

Fraud can happen to any business that accepts card payments and could have a significant impact on your business. See how you can detect and prevent credit card fraud.

Protect your business from card skimming

Keep your business and your customers safe against card skimming with these top tips (PDF 127KB).