GLOSSARY · CHARGEBACKS AND FRAUD
Friendly fraud
Friendly fraud is when cardholders dispute a payment they or their household actually made, often claiming fraud or forgetting a subscription renewal.
Also called First-party fraud · First-party misuse · Chargeback fraud
Unlike stolen-card fraud, friendly fraud involves the real cardholder. Some cases are deliberate, but many are confusion: a renewal the customer forgot, a charge they do not recognize on their statement, or a purchase made by a family member. Visa calls this first-party misuse.
Subscriptions are exposed because charges repeat without the customer acting each time. An unfamiliar billing descriptor, a missing renewal reminder or a hard-to-find cancel button all push customers to their bank instead of to the merchant.
Prevention works better than defense: clear descriptors, reminders before annual renewals, easy cancellation and fast refunds on request. When a fraud dispute does arrive from a long-standing customer, Visa’s Compelling Evidence 3.0 rules can help prove the history.