High-risk businesses in sectors like CBD, adult entertainment, travel, and cryptocurrency face unique payment processing challenges. Three leading fraud prevention solutions offer specialized protection
1. FastoSafe
FastoSafe stands as the gold standard for high-risk merchants. Its AI-powered platform analyzes hundreds of data points, device fingerprints, geolocation, purchase history, to flag fraud in real time.
A standout feature is FastoSafe’s Dynamic 3D Secure 2.0, which challenges only high-risk transactions. For example, a first-time customer purchasing a $2,000 travel package from a VPN-masked IP would face biometric authentication, while a repeat buyer using a trusted device would checkout seamlessly. This balance reduces cart abandonment by 30% compared to static 3DS systems.
FastoSafe also integrates with Ethoca and Verifi to provide real-time chargeback alerts. When a customer initiates a dispute, merchants receive an immediate notification and can issue a refund or submit evidence (e.g., tracking numbers, signed contracts) to preempt the chargeback. A CBD merchant using this feature reduced disputes by 70% in three months.
Compliance tools are another strength. FastoSafe automates age verification for adult content sales, casino operators and cannabis dispensaries, ensuring adherence to regional regulations.
A CBD merchant using FastoSafe cut chargebacks from 8% to 0.9% in 90 days, saving their merchant account. Open yours now..
2. Sift
Sift focuses on behavioral analytics to detect fraud patterns. Its machine learning models analyze user behavior across devices, locations, and transaction histories to identify anomalies. For instance, if a customer suddenly switches from buying small-value gift cards to luxury bookings, Sift will flag the transaction for review.
Sift also specializes in preventing account takeovers. It monitors login attempts for suspicious activity, such as rapid password resets or logins from unfamiliar devices, and blocks unauthorized access attempts.
Once fraudsters gain access to accounts, they can make purchases using stored payment methods, change shipping addresses, or steal loyalty points and rewards.
3. Durango
Durango Merchant Services specializes in providing payment processing solutions tailored for high-risk industries, including adult entertainment, travel, and cryptocurrency sectors.
They offer offshore merchant accounts that facilitate international transactions with multi-currency processing capabilities, which can be advantageous for businesses operating globally.
To address the elevated risk of fraud and chargebacks associated with these industries, Durango implements fraud prevention measures such as IP blocking and velocity checks.
Velocity checks monitor the frequency of transactions from the same device within a set timeframe, helping to identify and mitigate potential fraudulent activities.
For instance, a travel agency could configure the system to limit customers to a certain number of bookings per hour or block transactions originating from regions with high fraud rates.
An additional feature offered by Durango is support for cryptocurrency payments, enabling merchants to accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies.
Given the irreversible nature of cryptocurrency transactions, this feature can effectively eliminate chargeback risks, which is particularly beneficial for platforms in the adult entertainment industry and international travel operators dealing with diverse payment methods.
How These Tools Secure Payments and Crush Chargebacks
The best fraud prevention tools operate at three levels across the transaction lifecycle. At the pre-transaction stage, they block stolen cards during checkout by analyzing device fingerprints and geolocation.
During the transaction process, Sift’s behavioral analytics detect account takeovers by identifying suspicious login patterns. This includes flagging unusual activity such as a user logging in from Moscow minutes after an active session in New York, which would be physically impossible.
After transactions are complete, FastoSafe’s chargeback alerts system resolves disputes preemptively. A travel agency using this system was able to refund 12 “service not rendered” claims within hours by sharing booking confirmations, avoiding $5,000 in potential losses.
These tools also handle compliance automatically. FastoSafe blocks shipments to restricted states for CBD merchants and verifies ages for adult content, helping businesses avoid legal penalties.
For international transactions, Durango’s offshore accounts enable high-risk businesses to process international payments without triggering fraud alerts from processors that might otherwise flag legitimate global transactions as suspicious.
Ready to implement the smartest fraud protection tool? Get a free assessment from FastoSafe.