Ebates.com uses authentication technology to reduce its fraud threat

Online shopping rebate site Ebates.com says it has reduced its payment card fraud risk by deploying authentication technology from ThreatMetrix, a payments security technology vendor.

At Ebates.com consumers browse more than 1,000 online retailers, which, via the site, offer discounts. When consumers complete a purchase they earn cash back.

However, Ebates.com faces a fraud threat when it redirects shoppers to the retail sites. Fraudsters can use Ebates.com as a gateway, disguising their locations from a retailer’s geolocation filters for IP addresses, which make it easier for hackers to steal payment card data.

That’s why Ebates.com, eager to protect its reputation by steering away potential fraudsters from retail sites, integrated software from ThreatMetrix that determines whether the consumers are arriving at Ebates.com from one of the 10 million compromised computers tracked by the vendor.

Fraudsters, typically via broadband connections, will sign up to sites via infected computers in other countries to hide their actual locations. But using ThreatMetrix’ technology Ebates.com is able to determine the consumer’s actual location. Ebates.com said the implementation took a day.

“ThreatMetrix helps Ebates and our online merchant partners reduce first-time and recurring fraud incidents without impacting our customers’ online experiences,” says Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of the cash back shopping site.