merchant911.org -- helping Merchants

MERCHANT 911 PRESS RELEASE ARCHIVES

May 2004

Merchant 911 Announces Milestone --- Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Merchant 911, one of the top fraud fighting web sites exclusively for e-Commerce Merchants, announced today that it has screened and approved member number 2,000.

Merchant 911's Director, Tom Mahoney, said "Only with the strength that numbers provide, will the industry listen to the needs of the on-line merchant when it relates to credit card fraud. Our growing membership base is giving us some clout."

According to industry figures, on-line credit card fraud continues to grow along with the growth of e-Commerce. On-line sales are increasing at an estimated 30% while fraudulent transaction percentages remain fairly constant. "That translates to a 30% annual increase in fraud," says Mahoney, "And that's appalling when you consider the credit card industry's best efforts to combat fraud with new anti-fraud products"

On-line merchants are always liable for fraudulent transactions. The banks and processors are not. And this fact isn't generally made known to merchants. They find out after they become victims. "We've seen small on-line merchants go out of business simply because they weren't given the information they need to recognize fraudulent orders," said Mahoney, "And in this information age that's simply not acceptable."

Merchant 911's web site is free to all e-commerce merchants that pass the screening process set up to keep out the scammers. The site contains searchable databases, a fraud alert email system, and a host of other services.

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