Sometimes the cardholder placed the order and disputes it anyway. It can be an honest mistake, like an unfamiliar billing descriptor, or a deliberate claim that an order never arrived. Either way, the merchant pays the amount plus fees. 64% of merchants report rising first-party misuse, and each dispute costs more than $80 to resolve (MRC, 2026). This one-pager shows how to tell it apart from stolen-card fraud.
What’s inside:
- A side-by-side comparison of true fraud and first-party fraud: who placed the order, checkout signals, timing, and best response
- How a first-party dispute unfolds, from a legitimate order to a chargeback
- Where 3D-Secure helps and where it doesn’t, including “not received” and “not as described” claims
- Four ways to catch repeat patterns early: connected risk decisions, the Global Data Network, risk-based friction, and transparent, testable decisions
- Three questions to ask your team about non-fraud reason codes, repeat disputers, and time to detect
