Monica Eaton, CEO of Chargebacks911, was recently featured in Magic Valley in an article examining how the rising cost of chargebacks and friendly fraud is affecting not only merchants, but consumers as well. Drawing on findings from Chargebacks911's 2026 Chargeback Field Report, the piece explores how the financial burden of disputed transactions is increasingly being passed on through higher retail prices.
The article focuses on the growing prevalence of first-party misuse, or friendly fraud, which now accounts for the majority of chargebacks processed by card networks. While chargebacks remain an essential consumer protection tool, the report highlights how the system is increasingly being exploited, forcing merchants to absorb significant losses and invest more heavily in fraud prevention and dispute management. As a result, many businesses are incorporating those costs into the prices they charge every customer.
“Fraud is going to eventually hit consumers in the form of higher prices for goods and services,” Eaton said. “That includes honest shoppers who play no part in causing the problem.”
The feature notes that nearly four in ten merchants now pass chargeback-related costs directly to consumers, a figure that has continued to climb year over year. It also cites research showing that every dollar lost to fraud ultimately costs merchants several times that amount once chargeback fees, labor, operational expenses, and lost merchandise are taken into account. Combined with the continued growth of friendly fraud, these mounting expenses are reshaping how merchants approach fraud prevention and customer dispute management.
In one notable case, a Stripe user surveyed described being hit twice by the same buyer, who kept the goods, won both disputes and then emailed to gloat. As Jarrod Wright, Chargebacks911 VP of Marketing explained, pursuing an individual through the courts is “expensive, slow, and varies by jurisdiction.”
