Fraudulent disputes on Stripe: the complete guide

Stripe applies fraudulent when the customer's claim is that they didn't make or authorize the purchase at all. Not that they're unhappy with it, not that it never arrived: that the charge itself is illegitimate from their side.

• Genuine fraud. A stolen card was used, and the actual cardholder had nothing to do with the purchase.
• Friendly fraud. The cardholder made the purchase themselves, and either forgot, didn't recognize the billing descriptor, or is disputing deliberately to get a refund without going through you.
• Family or account sharing. Someone with access to the card or account made a purchase the primary cardholder didn't expect.

• Customer purchase IP address and device data consistent with past orders and the billing address
• Address Verification System and CVC match results
• 3D Secure authentication, if it was used at checkout
• Prior order history showing a legitimate relationship with the same customer
• Customer communication referencing the purchase

For fraud disputes specifically, Stripe evaluates eligibility for Visa's Compelling Evidence 3.0 program automatically. If a case qualifies, Stripe notifies the merchant, and submitting evidence in that case has a meaningfully higher chance of success than a typical fraud dispute.

• Fighting every fraud dispute by default. Genuine fraud usually isn't winnable, and treating every case the same wastes the response window on cases with no real chance.
• Skipping the IP and device data because it feels technical. This is often the single strongest signal available for telling fraud apart from a forgotten purchase.
• Not checking for prior order history. A customer with three prior legitimate orders disputing a fourth, identical purchase is a very different case than a first time buyer.
• Assuming 3D Secure was used without checking. If it wasn't, that's worth knowing before building the rest of the case.