Chargebacks911 Founder Monica Eaton Monica was interviewed live on Jan. 13 on WTVM News Leader 9. The interview focused on several key points revolving around post-pandemic spikes in friendly fraud, and what merchants can do to lower their risk.
WTVM is a television station in Columbus, Georgia, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Gray Television, which provides certain services to dual NBC/CW+ affiliate WLTZ and Fox affiliate WXTX under separate shared services agreements.
The interview focused on several issues, including how online banking and credit card fraud, including friendly fraud, spiked during the pandemic due to the steep rise in online sales. According to WTVM, Banks like Truist saw fraud claims increase from 3,000 per month to over 20,000 per month.
Monica explained banks that used to absorb small-dollar chargebacks from consumers have gotten stricter with those claims. In response, banks have added technology to stop payments on more disputed claims, leaving some vendors empty-handed after legitimate sales.
“When asked whether banks were obliged to offer chargebacks, and whether they were tied to the current problem, Monica said the answer was “yes and no.”
“If the consumer is being scammed, then absolutely,” Monica said. “This is one of the benefits of using a credit card. But, if you accidentally forgot to cancel a subscription, and you want your money back, and you haven’t used the software, don’t attempt to call your banks and try to get them to file a chargeback. This is really a scenario that you need to take up with the retailer or merchant.”
Check out the full segment below:
