On this page
Friendly fraud is the industry nickname for a cardholder disputing a purchase they made. It is a dangerous nickname, because it assumes you are right before you have checked the descriptor, the receipt, and the fulfilment. Many “friendly fraud” piles are customers who do not recognise a trading name.
Call it unrecognised until the statement proves otherwise.
What is actually moving
If the statement says a string the customer never saw, fix the string. Refunding or fighting without fixing it just refills the pile. If the statement is clear and you delivered, the response is the evidence, not an insult in the evidence file.
- Check the statement line.
- Check the receipt.
- Check delivery.
- Then decide whether you can evidence the charge.
What people confuse it with
A partnership does not become cleaner because you have decided your disputes are friendly fraud. The other business is being asked to carry those reasons. Show them the reasons.
Not a reinstatement method
What to do with it
Separate “they do not recognise us” from “we delivered and they reversed it”.
- Read ten recent unrecognised disputes and the descriptor on each.
- If the descriptor is obscure, change the thing customers see, honestly.
- If the descriptor is clear, respond with fulfilment.
- Do not label the whole book fraudulent in an appeal. It reads as contempt, and it may be inaccurate.
What this briefing is not
Questions on this note
Are most disputes friendly fraud?
You cannot know that from the nickname. Read the reason and the descriptor. A lot of unrecognised disputes are a branding problem.
Does winning disputes remove the risk?
Wins help the individual charges. A high volume of disputes can still trigger a review, even when you later win some.
Continue in the briefing
Accounts
Stripe Statement Descriptors, Receipts and What the Cardholder Sees
How Stripe statement descriptors, receipts and checkout names cause unrecognised-charge disputes, and why they must name the real seller.
8 min
Disputes
Early Fraud Warnings: What to Do Before a Dispute
An early fraud warning is the issuer saying the cardholder does not recognise the payment. It is a chance to refund before it becomes a dispute, not a freeze.
11 min
Disputes
What Belongs in a Dispute Response
A dispute response is evidence the customer received what was charged. It is not a character reference.
11 min
Disputes
A Rising Dispute Rate, and What a Stripe Review Is Actually Looking At
How disputes, refunds and early fraud warnings read differently in a Stripe review, without fake thresholds or a promise the ratio will be forgiven.
15 min