Discover Refuses to Admit Fraudulent Charge

[red259]

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@Platinum wrote:

This is not first time I hear stories like this about Discover and Discover only. That's why I've got rid of them for good. They often side with fraudsters/ merchants.

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I had a situation where someone opened up a discover card in my name using an address associated with me. I was able to get the card cleared up as fraud without any problem at all and found discover to be a million times better than when I had the same situation with Chase, so it makes me wonder if there is more to the story. 

[MarcusCrassus]

As I noted in the OP, the merchandise was purchased online (an electronics item).

Unless the merchant is complicit in the fraud, how would the merchant know that the transaction was fraudulent? All it takes is the card information and billing address in order to buy something online, and from the information report that Discover sent, that is major basis for their conclusion that the transaction was not fraudulent (the report did cite as a risk factor for fraud the fact that the item was not mailed to my billing address).

I further note that when I reported the fraudulent charge, I asked that the card be cancelled immediately, but they said that it was not necessary at the time, but I have since insisted that they cancel the card as I have no confidence in their procedures, which may or may not be similar to those of VISA or MC. Anecdotally, there does seem to be some difference in the way that Discover handles fraud claims.

[Anonymous]

Wow.. Sorry to hear.  You'd think the the measures they take to prevent fraud will make filing one soo much easier.  Thats terrible..

[Anonymous]

You just made me happy about my $500 limit on my Discover. Now I know that's the worst I may lose if there is fraud.

[Callandra]

Was the name on the order the same as yours? (Ie- did the person have your name as well as the card info?) If it was or was close, that might be the reason Discover is siding with the merchant (I work for an online business and except in cases where we have refunded the order, we NEVER win disputes. Never had a Discover one though, 99% are Visa/MC). 

Also, if the dispute is closed, that is it. You cannot re-open a dispute (not sure about Discover, but for Visa/MC, there is always a timeframe for the cardholder to respond if it is not in their favor; did you get paperwork from Discover about it? Did they initially give you the credit? Almost sounds like there wasn't much of an investigation). How much was the charge for?

[Anonymous]

Someone could call Discover and ask them about the fraud program. I would but I'm at work right now. This is concerning.

[MarcusCrassus]

Yes, the merchant had my billing information including my name (though the phone number was wrong and the email address was not one that I use). I received the paperwork from Discover and the "proof" consists entirely of data from the merchant detailing the transaction and item delivery.  In fact, Discover admitted that their decision was based only on that information: "Based on information we received from the merchant, the transaction appears to be valid." The charge (which was temporarily reversed) was over $50 so I'm out of luck (CCs apparently don't usually bother wasting resources fighting fraud claims that are less than $50).

[yfan]

This indeed is very disconcerting. There might be a technological way of proving the fraud though:

• Contact the merchant that shows on the transaction and ask them to turn over to you the IP address from which the order was made. You might have to get their tech department for this.
• Run the IP address through any number of online services that can determine where (approximately) the IP originated from - the physical location.
• You can then prove that you were never in the area on the date in question in a number of ways: if you have an Android smartphone and it has location services on (for weather or whatever), it can give you a pretty good record, or your physical (in-store) CC transactions around that date should also clear up that you were never in the locaiton where the IP address came from.

This would be proof that you didn't authorize that transaction.

[yfan]

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@MarcusCrassus wrote:

Yes, the merchant had my billing information including my name (though the phone number was wrong and the email address was not one that I use). I received the paperwork from Discover and the "proof" consists entirely of data from the merchant detailing the transaction and item delivery.  In fact, Discover admitted that their decision was based only on that information: "Based on information we received from the merchant, the transaction appears to be valid." The charge (which was temporarily reversed) was over $50 so I'm out of luck (CCs apparently don't usually bother with fighting fraud claims <$50).

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I'm sorry, are you saying the charge was OVER $50 or UNDER $50? This may make a legal difference because the law does hold you responsible for up to $50 in fraud. Secondly, how long after the charge was made did you notice and report it as fraud? The law limits liability to $50 if reported within 2 days, to $500 if reported after 2 days but before 60 days, and doesn't limit at all if reported after 60 days.

[MarcusCrassus]

I checked the IP address and one of the various locations associated with it (odd that the locations are all over the country) is reasonbly close to my town, but I was reading another forum and the person claimed that it's not too difficult for fraudsters to "masquerade a transaction as coming from the geographic area of the account holder's residence." And because of that it would make it that much more difficult to prove my actual location since the purchase was online, not in a B&M store.