Chargebacks911 spokesperson Scott Pinsker was recently quoted in a SavingAdvice.com article, warning consumers that they may already be guilty of friendly fraud… whether they realize it or not.
SavingArticle.com is an online website dedicated to all things finance. Covering a broad range of financial topics from fraud to investment, the website promotes blogs, articles, and other content targeted toward consumers and merchants.
Suppose the reader finds a suspicious charge on their credit or debit card statement. If they then call their bank or credit provider to dispute the charge rather than contact the merchant directly for a refund, and the funds are restored to them… they have just inadvertently committed friendly fraud.
It turns out accidental friendly fraud is quite common. It can be the result of a misunderstood shop or return policy, misread billing details, a forgotten subscription payment, or a family member who may have gotten a hold of the account holder’s card without permission. Each of these cases represents an unintentionally illegitimate dispute.
“Merchants lose over $3 for every dollar of fraud,” says Scott. “Those losses include additional fees, overhead, and more.”
Also, it’s important to consider that the real victim of friendly fraud could be the consumers themselves. As Scott notes, “A lot of people look at big businesses and financial companies and think, ‘they have so much, if I get a little, who’s really getting hurt?’” But, as the article notes, the answer is ultimately other consumers.
“When someone commits fraud of any kind it creates an added cost to recover the loss,” Scott says. “As those losses add up, consumer prices have to go up to cover that.”
