Spotting a suspicious order

Check it

1. Open the order in Orders. Note the email, the time and the Delivery card.
2. Search Orders for the same or similar emails.
3. Click Open Stripe dashboard on Payouts and open the payment. The References card on the order has its ID. Stripe's page shows details that Dockstall doesn't, along with any risk information Stripe has.

Signs to look for

Stripe lists these in its guide to identifying fraud. No single one proves anything:

• An email or details that look made up
• Many purchases in a short time, or many similar emails
• Many declined attempts. These only appear in Stripe, not in Orders.
• An order far larger than usual, such as only your most expensive product
• A scripted message that doesn't quite fit
• A request to refund outside the card, such as by wire transfer

Never agree to send money outside the original payment. Refunds only go back to the original payment method. If a buyer asks you to pay them another way, treat that as a warning sign.

What you can do

If you're sure it's fraud. Stripe suggests refunding, which can spare you a dispute and its fee. You have two options:

• Use the Refund card in Dockstall. A full refund also ends access, and our fee comes back within 30 days. See refund an order.
• In your Stripe dashboard, use Refund as fraud, which also reports it to Stripe. Dockstall records the refund and ends access, but we can't promise our fee comes back this way.

If you're unsure. Contact the buyer by email. Stripe explains that refunding everything suspicious isn't always the best approach, because a digital product can't be taken back once it's been used.

What we can't do

Dockstall can't block a buyer, flag a card, or tell you whether a payment is fraud. Stripe's fraud tools work on Stripe's side, and their settings are in your Stripe dashboard.

If a store or product is abusing Dockstall, you can report it.

Who pays

You do. A refund comes from your Stripe balance, and so does a dispute if the real cardholder opens one. See a buyer opened a dispute.