How Do I Know If A Dispute Is Friendly Fraud?
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Friendly fraud happens when a real customer files a dispute instead of contacting you, often because of confusion, forgetfulness, or convenience.
Short Answer
A dispute is likely friendly fraud when the transaction was legitimate, the product or service was delivered, and the customer had prior interaction with your business. Banks see these disputes as valid unless you can prove the customer recognized and benefited from the purchase.
Steps to Solve the Problem
- Check the transaction history
Friendly fraud almost always comes from a real purchase. Look for matching IP addresses, devices, billing details, and previous successful orders. - Look for delivery or usage proof
If the item was delivered, accessed, downloaded, or used, the dispute is rarely true fraud. Usage logs and delivery confirmation matter here. - Review customer communication
Emails, support tickets, refund requests, or delivery questions before the dispute are strong friendly fraud signals. - Watch the refund and cancellation timing
Disputes filed after refunds, cancellations, or subscription changes are commonly friendly fraud driven by impatience or confusion. - Identify repeat behavior
Customers who dispute more than once across orders are rarely victims of fraud. Chargeflow Insights helps flag repeat abusers and dispute patterns. - Respond with evidence that shows intent
When you see friendly fraud, submit evidence that proves the customer recognized the transaction and benefited from it. Chargeflow Automation helps package this cleanly for banks.
Platform or Use Case Variations
Subscriptions: Renewal disputes are often friendly fraud when customers forget cancellations or ignore reminder emails.
Digital goods: Access logs and download records are critical for proving usage.
Shopify: Returning customers with saved details are rarely true fraud cases.
Evidence Needed
Banks typically expect:
• Proof of delivery or access
• Device, IP, or account match
• Customer communication logs
• Prior successful transactions
• Clear timeline showing customer involvement
Why This Happens
Friendly fraud is usually not malicious. Customers choose disputes because banks feel faster and easier than contacting the merchant.
Friendly fraud becomes manageable when merchants spot the signals early and use Chargeflow to turn real customer activity into bank-ready proof.
Chargebacks?
No longer your problem.
Recover 4x more chargebacks and prevent up to 90% of incoming ones, powered by AI and a global network of 15,000 merchants.
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Questions?
we’ve got answers.
Chargeflow collects data from dozens of third party signals, not just transaction data like Stripe Dispute does. This allows for much more coverage and much better win rates because the evidence submitted is much more comprehensive and compelling..
Chargeflow collects data like order info, customer messages, and payment details. It builds a full dispute case for you, so you don’t have to lift a finger.
Yes! Chargeflow works with many processors — not just Stripe. That means one tool for all your chargebacks, no matter how you process payments.
You only pay a percentage of the revenue we help you recover. No upfront fees, no subscriptions — just success-based pricing.
Yes. Chargeflow is SOC 2, GDPR, and ISO certified. We use top security standards to keep your data safe.
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