Ecommerce Coffee Break – The Ecom Marketing & Sales Podcast Friendly Fraud: The Silent Killer Putting Your Ecommerce Margins At Risk — Simon Wijckmans | How To Stop Friendly Fraud, Why It Kills Your Margins, How To Prevent Chargebacks, What A 0.5% Fraud Rate Really Means, Why Browser Security Matters (#451)
Nov 26, 2025
Join Simon Wijckmans, Founder and CEO of cside, as he delves into the world of friendly fraud—a silent threat to eCommerce margins. He explains how bad actors exploit chargebacks for profit and why payment issuers make it easy for customers to file disputes. Discover the hidden costs of fighting chargebacks and how client-side security intelligence can prevent them. Simon shares insights on device fingerprinting, the critical nature of browser security, and a case study showing how one business reduced chargebacks by up to 70%!
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What Friendly Fraud Really Is
- Friendly fraud is when a customer disputes a legitimate charge to get their money back after receiving goods or reselling them.
- Simon Wijckmans explains this behavior has become routine and monetized, hurting merchants' margins and operations.
Issuer Incentives Favor Buyers
- Payment issuers favor buyer convenience, which makes disputing charges easy and creates a conflict of interest with merchants.
- Visa and Mastercard historically lacked clear evidence rules, complicating merchants' ability to contest chargebacks.
Account For All Chargeback Costs
- Track all administrative and staffing costs when contesting chargebacks because small fees and time add up quickly.
- Allocate resources strategically and consider partner solutions when contesting becomes frequent or costly.