Sebbe Jones, 2Checkout’s Fraud Czar, has spent a majority of his professional career fighting online fraud. He is one of 2Checkout’s most valued employees and is regularly called upon by the industry to speak on the subject. The following two-part blog, which will conclude tomorrow, is Sebbe’s narrative on 2Checkout’s fraud fighting history, the lessons learned along the way and a brief look at his department’s methodology… that is, the part he is allowed to share with you. This rare glimpse into “Sebbe’s World” will provide you the reasons why 2CO’s fraud scrubbing service is so highly valued by its customers who receive the service as a value-add, and why no e-commerce business should attempt to stand alone in the war against online fraud.

Allow me a moment to introduce myself and talk about my history at 2Checkout. My name is Sebbe Jones. I am the manager of Fraud Detection and Prevention at 2Checkout and manage a staff of analysts and investigators.

We are very good at what we do, but don’t take my word for it. Let our record and departmental process speak for itself.

Today and tomorrow, I will post a two-part blog describing 2Checkout’s daily fraud mitigation efforts – what goes into our daily work, a little history behind the development and rejuvenation of our department, and ultimately explain why you shouldn’t try tackling fraud on your own.

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Who is managing your online fraud protection? If you have an active 2Checkout account we’ve got your back. If you are unsure or on your own, you better read more!

According to an article published this week in The Paypers, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) registered over 275,000 online fraud complaints in 2008…” That’s a 33 percent increase from 2007 and equal to approximately $265 million in annual losses.

World-class fraud protection is invaluable to an online business but not cheap. The labor and technical expenses associated with providing adequate protection require a significant resource commitment, especially for small businesses. However, for 2Checkout account holders, fraud protection is just one of a number of value-added features included in our turnkey e-commerce service. And sometimes it takes statistical reminders from the FBI to remind us how crucial these add-on services are to running a profitable online business.

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Suppliers who are currently choosing to be paid by wire transfer in any currency other than USD need to be aware of some potential changes in their weekly payments. To provide better service, 2Checkout.com is changing foreign currency providers for wire transfers. This transition will occur over the next few months.

What this means for your everyday business:

• No disruption in the payout of your 2Checkout payment.
• A potential change of reference information on your wire.
• A potential change in the fee charged by your bank as funds will now originate from a US bank.

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Recently, several of us at 2Checkout had the first meeting of our Social Responsibility Task Force. The purpose of this committee is to determine where, when, and how corporate charitable initiatives should be applied. As this was the first meeting, many of the members are currently researching existing initiatives. There was also some discussion about the possibility of expanding donations on a more global level.

We would also like to expand our volunteerism and encourage individual time commitments to a variety of programs. We have also discussed partnering with some of our many vendors who are already using their businesses as a means to raise funds for causes that are important to them. We are looking closely at the idea of expanding our scholarship program, as well as focusing on programs that repair older computers to give to those in need.

To help with expanding our donations, we would like to know what causes are important to you and what you view locally or internationally as a “worthy cause”? Post your ideas here or send me an email at bion@2co.com.

I spent the last week of February in sunny Phoenix, Arizona at the e-Tail conference. The conference itself was fantastic as usual, full of information, new products and plenty of networking.

While in Phoenix, I decided to drop in on a few 2CO vendors. I did not call in advance because I wanted to surprise them, and being that most of our vendors only get to talk to us by phone or email, I thought it would be nice for them to see that we are, in fact, flesh and blood.

Around 11AM on February 22, I departed the Marriott at Desert Ridge in my rental car, a PT Cruiser, and headed out to meet my first vendor Kachina-Dolls.com. As I navigated the valley’s freeway system listening to long-hair 80’s metal tunes, I found myself looking forward to learning how the dolls were made and how the company was founded. Kachina dolls have always interested me, because of my fascination with Native American history, folklore and art. I had also lived in Phoenix for twelve years, so I had definitely seen my share of dolls.

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