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#189132 - 05/12/04 03:08 PM
Callers asking to Verify Card Holder Address
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100 Club
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 106
NC - On the Coast
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In the last couple of days we have gotten several calls asking to "verify address of a card holder". My first reaction was to say we do not give out information over the phone. I got a number to call back from one caller and did some follow-up. This was with a retailer that said they are trying to prevent internet fraud. On every transaction they perform an address match. She said they have a global match system they call, but often they will be notified that the info given did not match. They then call a seperate number that will give them the financial institutions phone number. They will call the institution and attempt to verify the info. She said they do not want any informtion. They will provide the card number (generally debit card), name and an address and only want a yes or no response to the match. She presented it to be very similar to merchant check verification. Does this sound legit and is it OK to verify this info? Before I say it is OK to do so I wanted to get feedback with others who may have been through this.
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#189133 - 05/12/04 03:15 PM
Re: Callers asking to Verify Card Holder Address
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 40,086
Cape Cod
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Address verification is a critical piece of information for merchants accepting credit or debit cards, and a standard procedure under credit card association rules. As the merchant said, it's to prevent fraud. I see nothing wrong with verifying the information provided with a terse Yes or No.
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John S. Burnett
BankersOnline.com
Fighting for Compliance since 1976
Bankers' Threads User #8
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#189135 - 05/12/04 04:57 PM
Re: Callers asking to Verify Card Holder Address
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Power Poster
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 6,719
PA
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Quote:
Frankly, I just don't know how contacting the bank directly helps a merchant to verify an address as they would have to change the address based on your input. I simply would not provide the information.
My reading of the above post (and my experience with similar calls) tells me that the bank is not being asked to provide an address, but to verify the information that the merchant already has. As for how it helps? It helps the merchant identify fraudulent transactions. Also, it helps the bank identify compromised cards. Personally, I would rather find out about a compromised card via a merchant verification than through a Reg E claim.
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#189136 - 05/12/04 05:07 PM
Re: Callers asking to Verify Card Holder Address
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 47,529
Bloomington, IN
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Many moons ago when I worked in a small credit card shop this was quite common for telephone orders. The internet wasn't around then.
We would simply say yes the information matches our records, or no the information does not match our records. No further information would be given.
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The opinions expressed are mine and they are not to be taken as legal advice.
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#189139 - 05/12/04 06:00 PM
Re: Callers asking to Verify Card Holder Address
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Power Poster
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 6,719
PA
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Quote:
Checking a correct address is going to impact production at the bank level if that practice continues.
Perhaps, but let's look at what happens if we refuse the call:
1) The merchant may cancel the transaction (less fee income for the bank.)
2) If the merchant conveys to the customer that the transaction was cancelled because they could not verify the address, who will be the object of the customer's anger? In my experience, angry customer calls are more time consuming than merchant verification calls.
3) If the aforementioned customer feels that he cannot use his debit card to its full potential, he may open an account at an institution where this will not be an issue.
Now let's consider the other scenario:
Quote:
A wonder what happens if you say that it's not the correct address?
In a perfect world, the merchant cancels the transaction. Furthermore, the bank's best practice at this point is to contact the customer to authenticate the transaction. If it is authorized, explain the address discrepancy problem to the customer so he can avoid the same problem on his reorder. If it is not authorized, the bank has just headed off future Reg E claims by cancelling the card before additional transactions could be done.
Of course, we don't know whether the address will be legit or not unless we honor the verification call in the first place. So, while I understand your point about increased productivity, I think refusing the call is penny wise and pound foolish.
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#189140 - 05/12/04 06:07 PM
Re: Callers asking to Verify Card Holder Address
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Power Poster
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,626
State of confusion
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We will usually verify correct information but we will not correct them unless we have prior notice from the customer authorizing that. We have a VERY strict privacy policy that we have to follow after being burned a couple of times. I have had my own debit card denied for address not matching on internet purchases because my address abbreviations were different than input by my own bank - Rd. instead of Road.
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Going to church doesn't make you a christian any more that standing in your garage makes you a car.
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#189145 - 05/12/04 08:23 PM
Re: Callers asking to Verify Card Holder Address
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Quote:
I agree with Tisa's last statement.
Well, isn't that special - Tisa has Fraud Pup's agreement. Life is good. The insight on BOL is simply awesome.
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#189147 - 05/12/04 08:40 PM
Re: Callers asking to Verify Card Holder Address
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Quote:
Anon--the question was not that difficult and had been beaten to death by Paragon already from angles as relevant as what I had for lunch today. Tisa summed it up PERFECTLY, IMO.
"For account number x, I show the following address: y. Does this address match your records?"
Yes/No.
It's not a philosophical question. Would you rather I add that I ate Chinese today? The sweet/sour wasn't bad. Do you feel better now that I added some gray to the black/white topic?
Get a life.
Excellent, FraudPup - more simply awesome insight - right on target - simply brilliant stuff. And the what you had for lunch stuff – on the mark, applicative, applicatory, apposite, apropos, apt, associable, befitting, felicitous, fit, fitting, germane, kosher, legit, material, on target, pertinent, relevant, right on, usable, suitable, suited and useful. You are the man!
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#189148 - 05/12/04 08:45 PM
Re: Callers asking to Verify Card Holder Address
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Power Poster
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 6,719
PA
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Quote:
So, if it's just a little off from what you have, you provide the correct address. It seems like they should call the customer, not the bank.
This would make sense if the merchant knew the specifics and magnitude of the discrepancy. But, as Tisa points out, such is not the case. A difference between 'Road' and 'Rd' will reject the same as a completely different address. If the merchant calls the customer, then the merchant is enabling fraud by allowing the thief to tell him that the bogus information is legit.
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#189150 - 05/12/04 08:53 PM
Re: Callers asking to Verify Card Holder Address
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Quote:
Quote:
So, if it's just a little off from what you have, you provide the correct address. It seems like they should call the customer, not the bank.
This would make sense if the merchant knew the specifics and magnitude of the discrepancy. But, as Tisa points out, such is not the case. A difference between 'Road' and 'Rd' will reject the same as a completely different address. If the merchant calls the customer, then the merchant is enabling fraud by allowing the thief to tell him that the bogus information is legit.
But, what if the charge isn't legit with the address off because the perp didn't know that it was a little different, on purpose. Would you not be party to the fraud by providing the correct address information?
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#189152 - 05/12/04 09:17 PM
Re: Callers asking to Verify Card Holder Address
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Platinum Poster
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 938
Do you know the way to ...
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Quote:
So, if it's just a little off from what you have, you provide the correct address. It seems like they should call the customer, not the bank.
If it's fraud, calling the alleged customer woudn't do any good. The crook would only smile and say, "oh yes, that's my correct address." The merchant's main method of detecting possible fraud is mis-matched addresses.
We're not providing any kind of address to the merchant - only a "yes" or "no" that the address the customer gave them on their order is the same as the address on the customer's account with us.
Suppose the customer gave the merchant 123 Main Street # 12. When the merchant reads that to us over the phone, they say "one two three Main Street number twelve". If our files say 123 Main St Apt 12, it might not exactly match, but it is the same address. So we tell the merchant "yes" that is a correct address, and nothing more. They process the purchase, and everyone merrily goes on their way.
If, however, our files say 456 Oak Ave, we would tell the merchant "no" that is not a correct address - and nothing more. The merchant may or may not do further inquiry on the purchase -- that's up to them. We might decide to contact our customer and see if they've made a purchase from that merchant, or if perhaps someone is fraudulently trying to use their card.
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Just a lowly 1st Year Law Student ("1L"), so don't take anything I say seriously!
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