| Because users of Internet merchant accounts and | | | | concerned with this type of fraud are also looking |
| customers do not have the opportunity to | | | | for better ways to prevent money laundering |
| interact face-to-face, the kind of anonymity | | | | through operations that appear on the surface to |
| afforded by these all-electronic transactions can | | | | be conducting a legitimate business, but are just |
| tend to encourage fraudulent activities. Although | | | | using an Internet business to conceal the origin or |
| tools to detect and prevent e-commerce fraud | | | | destination of funds. |
| have improved over the years, there is little room | | | | On the consumer end of things, fraud perpetrated |
| for complacency as criminals are finding ever | | | | through identity theft has been of such a focus |
| more sophisticated methods to evade detection. | | | | that legitimate transactions that appear on credit |
| And, sheer growth in the volume of e-commerce | | | | card statements, but are not easily identified by |
| transactions can complicate the process of | | | | the consumer are often reported as fraudulent. |
| weeding out possibly fraudulent interactions from | | | | This is still a major thorn in the side of Internet |
| perfectly legitimate ones. | | | | merchant account providers since there is still no |
| Fraud does not come just from the consumer | | | | streamlined way of clearing up issues like this that |
| side, more sophisticated criminals will use | | | | are reported as fraud to credit card companies |
| merchant accounts in various ways to reap | | | | by consumers. In the world of virtual business, |
| ill-gotten gains. As seen in a recent case, Gucci | | | | products and services can be repackaged and |
| America was successful in shutting down an | | | | resold through a bewildering array of hand-offs, if |
| operation which sold counterfeit Gucci | | | | a customer is not able to connect the charge as |
| merchandise over the Internet, and now they are | | | | it is printed on a statement to an identifiable |
| going after the companies that provided Internet | | | | transaction it is too easy to claim it as fraud. |
| merchant accounts to the fraudsters. Companies | | | | |