The 5 point rule
In the presence business, that is, whenever the customer is personally present at the point of sale, the risk can be reduced if you check each credit card according to the so-called 5 point rule: Validity, authenticity and proper embossing of the card, completely filled in sales slip with a signature that matches the signature on the credit card.

For settlement over an electronic terminal, it is important to check whether the last four digits of the card number on the sales slip match those on the card.

Keep your eyes open
Do not depend solely on the 5 point rule. Maintain a watchful eye on customers you do not know and who act suspiciously. According to Urs von Arx, Manager of Bucherer Uhren & Bijouterie in Basel (see the article “Schlechte Karten für Betrüger” in our customer magazine accept 04/03 in German, French or Italian), such customers often give themselves away through their behavior. They seem uncertain and look around nervously, do not allow themselves to be helped, appear with a long shopping list and often do not at all match the products they ostensibly seek to purchase.

Security at a distance
If the customer is not personally present when paying, then the card cannot be checked, nor the customer's behavior observed. Security then takes on a new dimension. This is the case for a so-called mail-/phone-order, which is an order placed per telephone or a written order received per fax or on an order form. Your alarm bells should ring in this case when an order arrives from an unknown customer from a country with which you ordinarily do not do business.

Secure E-Commerce
The security of payments on the Internet is significantly increased with Secure E-Commerce through the processes MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa. Not only is the card data transmitted with a secure SSL encryption. For a successful transaction, a cardholder must also confirm the purchase by entering a personal password. The password which unambiguously identifies the cardholder during the payment process is received by his or her card-issuing bank and is known only to the cardholder. The risk of card misuse on the Internet remains minimal if the card is stolen.