5 Best Plugins For WooCommerce Fraud Prevention

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7-layers of Security for Your WordPress Site

Your website needs the most comprehensive security to protect it from the constant attacks it faces everyday.

Without WooCommerce security, you will struggle to manage your shop. Manually dealing with fraudulent customers is like carrying water in your palm: most will slip through. Itā€™s almost pointless.This raises the question is woocommerce safe?

WooCommerce store owners like you already realize that fake orders are a constant headache. You have to sift through every order that comes in. Youā€™re looking at emails, addresses, phone numbers, or the order itself to see which orders are legit. It is tedious and eats up valuable time and resources. The worst part is that you canā€™t afford to relax your processes. Skipping this step can be risky, leading to financial loss, skewed analytics, and a drain on your inventory.

The moment a fraudulent order slips through the cracks, the impact ripples through your business. For starters, you can kiss some of your inventory goodbye. Your customer service team is going to be swamped. The most problematic consequence though, is the finances. You may not be getting paid for the order and you may be penalized by your payment processor.  You may even get fined for not having adequate security. Like we said, the consequences of not monitoring your orders are endless. 

The good news is that you can automate the process. WooCommerce fraud prevention plugins have been developed to streamline this critical aspect of your business operations. In this article, we will explore the top five plugins designed specifically to combat fraudulent activities. 

Weā€™ll cover the features, user experience, and price to give you all the information you need to pick the right fraud prevention plugin. 

TL;DR: While FraudLabs Pro offers a great free solution for fraud prevention, its manual blacklisting can be tedious as hackers easily change their email or IP addresses. It works great for blocking specific customers. But, if youā€™re under attack, use a more robust firewall like MalCare to protect your WooCommerce store.

Starting your WooCommerce fraud prevention journey can be a bit daunting, but thereā€™s an easy first step you can take: block email addresses and IPs that look suspicious. Think of it as setting up a basic filter to keep out troublemakers. This way, you can focus more on growing your business and less on worrying about fraud. The tools and plugins weā€™re about to share will help you do just that, making it easy to blacklist and block those bad actors from your online store. Letā€™s dive in and get you started!

1. FraudLabs Pro for WooCommerce

If youā€™re just starting out with WooCommerce fraud prevention, FraudLabs Pro is an excellent plugin to consider.

Installation and activation are straightforward; just download the plugin from the WordPress directory. After signing up on their website, you’ll receive an API key that you need to enter into the FraudLabs Pro settings in your WooCommerce admin panel.

One of FraudLabs Proā€™s more powerful features is its extensive configuration options. You can easily set up when to trigger fraud checks and determine the status of orders at various stages of the validation process. Additionally, the offsite Merchant Dashboard offers you the ability to create custom rules, such as blacklisting specific IPs or emails.

We tested it out and found it to be a reliable solution for fraud prevention. It had a great dashboard that showed each transaction, the level of risk, and whether it was blocked. It was so easy that it is our favorite of the plugins we tested. 

Key features

  • Analyses and scores risk of fraud
  • Validates geolocation
  • Checks for proxies
  • Validates credit cards
  • Validates email addresses
  • Blacklists fraudulent customers
  • Create custom rules for blocking

Pros

  • External dashboard
  • Easy to use
  • Good documentation

Cons

  • Limited free version

Price: Free version with plans that start at $29 a month

2. WooCommerce Anti-Fraud

Developed by the people at WooCommerce, this plugin helps you automatically detect and prevent fraud. It works by evaluating each order against various criteria and assigning a fraud score. 

The plugin offers customizable settings, allowing you to decide what happens to suspicious ordersā€”whether they should be canceled, held, or flagged for review. Its user-friendly interface makes managing fraud prevention straightforward and efficient.

Key features

  • Block by country
  • Block by IP address
  • Check for proxies
  • Restrict email addresses
  • Lock out failed order attempts

Pros

  • Great dashboard
  • Intuitive UI
  • Beginner-friendly

Cons

  • No free version
  • Basic features for high cost

Price: $99 a year

3. YITH WooCommerce Anti Fraud

YITH makes a lot of great WooCommerce plugins and their anti-fraud plugin is no different.

It integrates seamlessly with your WooCommerce platform. It provides an intelligent and robust defense mechanism that empowers you to handle suspicious transactions with confidence and precision.

One of the standout features of YITH WooCommerce Anti-Fraud is its real-time fraud detection system. Like many of the plugins on this list, it assesses the risk of each transaction as it occurs. It then automatically blocks or flags dubious activities for your review. 

The plugin also offers a customizable fraud filter where you can set parameters based on countries, high-risk email domains, or unusual purchasing patterns.

It also offers detailed reporting and analytics. This can be really insightful for all WooCommerce store owners.

Key features

  • Offers anti-fraud check 
  • Checks first order, geolocation, and address for veracity
  • Verifies billing and shipping addresses
  • 3 different fraud risk levels: low, medium, and high
  • Review fraud risk levels freely
  • Checks for proxies
  • Block orders of specific email addresses
  • Add emails to blacklists 
  • Confirmation of valid PayPal accounts
  • Automatically cancel high-risk orders

Pros 

  • Lots of customization
  • Reputable plugin
  • Frequently updated

Cons

  • No free version

Price: $99 a year

4. Fraud Prevention For Woocommerce

Next on our list, is the Fraud Prevention for WooCommerce plugin.

Installation and activation are quick and easy, and a guided tour helps you get started right away. The free version of this plugin offers essential features like blacklisting email IDs, domains, IP addresses, states, and zip codes.

You can choose when to block suspicious usersā€”either at the registration stage or the order placement stage. In our tests, the order placement block worked seamlessly, but we encountered some issues with blocking at the registration stage. However, the pluginā€™s option to customize the message for blocked attempts functioned perfectly.

We found it a little unreliable but maybe you will have better luck. 

Key features

  • Block customers at user registration
  • Block customers at checkouts
  • Monitor blacklists
  • Create reports
  • Block customers by IP addresses
  • Block at a state level
  • Block zip codes
  • Customize block message

Pros

  • Free version
  • Easy setup
  • Setup wizard

Cons

  • Not reliable

Price: Free version and plans start at $129 a year

5. NoFraud Protection for WooCommerce

The NoFraud Protection Plugin promises to offer advanced fraud detection for WooCommerce users. The initial setup seems simple: install, activate, and configure the settings within WooCommerce.

However, our experience highlighted several challenges. While signing up was quick, obtaining the API key proved difficult. We found ourselves in a frustrating loop: unable to find the API key without creating an integration, which required enabling “Live Mode” on the Advanced Settings page. Unfortunately, this page threw an error directing us to check the logs. Except, we couldnā€™t find the logs anywhere. 

Despite these hurdles, NoFraud Protection holds potential for those willing to navigate the setup intricacies, offering robust security for online transactions. With clearer instructions and a smoother setup, it could become a vital tool for many e-commerce businesses.

Key features

  • Monitor phone orders for fraud
  • Customize review process
  • Automatically block fraudulent customers
  • Create a whitelist of legit customers
  • Detailed reporting of transactions
  • Review risk factors of orders

Pros

  • Great set of features
  • Free version available

Cons

  • Difficult setup
  • Unintuitive UI
  • Not beginner-friendly

Price: Free version and custom pricing depending on your requirements

Pro Tip: For large-scale blocking based on location or IP address, try using MalCare. MalCare makes it easy to block IP addresses from specific countries in WordPress with just a few clicks from your dashboard. One major benefit is the access to diagnostic tools like login and traffic logs, helping you decide which countries to block. The plugin uses intelligent signals to analyze the behavior of IP addresses, even identifying if someone is using a VPN or proxy. If an IP address is deemed malicious, MalCare will block it. Its powerful firewall also automatically identifies and bans spam and suspicious visitors, keeping your site secure.

Other ways to ensure WooCommerce fraud prevention

Fraud prevention plugins play a crucial role in safeguarding WooCommerce stores by detecting and blocking suspicious transactions, but they are not a complete solution. Their scope is often limited to transaction-focused activities and they do not protect against other security vulnerabilities like malware, hacking attempts, or DDoS attacks. This is why we recommend that you also perform the following:

  • Install MalCare: Boost your WooCommerce store’s security by installing a comprehensive security plugin like MalCare. These plugins offer essential features such as bot protection, firewalls, and scanners, crucial for defending against cyber threats. MalCare provides automated bot protection to stop malicious attacks, firewalls to filter and block unauthorized access, and scanners to identify vulnerabilitiesā€”all for free.
  • Use secure payment gateways: Ensure transaction safety by using secure payment gateways like Stripe. Stripe Radar employs machine learning to detect fraud patterns, while the 3D Secure feature adds an extra layer of verification, such as an OTP, enhancing transaction security.
  • Permit only customers with accounts to make purchases: Requiring customers to create accounts adds an extra layer of security. This enables you to monitor user activity and keep a verified record of customer interactions, reducing the likelihood of fraud.
  • Implement login authentication: Strengthen your siteā€™s defenses with Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and CAPTCHA. 2FA requires an additional verification step, like a code sent to the user’s phone, while CAPTCHA helps distinguish human users from bots, preventing automated attacks.
  • Implement Address Verification System (AVS): AVS compares the billing address provided by the customer with the address on file with the card issuer. This reduces the likelihood of fraud by flagging or declining mismatched transactions.
  • Enforce Card Verification Value (CVV): The CVV is an additional security step that verifies if the customer has physical access to their card. This significantly reduces the risk of fraudulent transactions using stolen card numbers and helps prevent card testing attacks, where fraudsters attempt small transactions to verify stolen card details.
  • Install SSL certificates: Encrypt data exchanged between your WooCommerce store and customers by using SSL certificates. This protects sensitive information during transmission and instills trust and confidence in your customers.
  • Set transaction amount limits: Mitigate high-value fraudulent transactions by capping transaction amounts. This limits the potential financial damage from a single fraudulent activity.
  • Keep everything updated: Regularly update your WooCommerce platform, plugins, and related software. Updates often include patches for vulnerabilities that could be exploited by fraudsters.
  • Use compliant hosting: Ensure your site adheres to PCI-DSS standards by using compliant hosting for processing, storing, and transmitting cardholder data. This is a mandatory requirement for e-commerce businesses dealing with card payments.
  • Educate your customers: Inform your customers about CNP (Card Not Present) fraud and safe payment practices. Educate them on recognizing phishing scams and suspicious activities to empower them in safeguarding their information, thereby reducing the risk for your businessā€”and protecting them in the bargain.

Final thoughts

Fraud prevention plugins are a crucial piece of the larger WooCommerce security puzzle, but they alone aren’t enough to ensure comprehensive protection for your online store. These plugins are designed to detect and block fraudulent activities, yet their effectiveness is greatly enhanced when used alongside robust security solutions like MalCare. By focusing on transaction security, fraud prevention plugins help mitigate risks, but they need to be part of a broader strategy.

Integrating fraud prevention plugins with security tools like MalCare provides a multi-layered defense, including features like bot protection, firewalls, and automated vulnerability scans. While fraud detection safeguards your transactions, MalCare fortifies your site’s overall infrastructure against a variety of cyber threats. This comprehensive approach keeps your revenue secure, maintains customer trust, and ensures a seamless shopping experience.

FAQs

How do I prevent fraud orders in WooCommerce?

To prevent fraud orders in WooCommerce, consider using fraud prevention plugins specifically designed for WooCommerce, such as YITH WooCommerce Anti-Fraud or FraudLabs Pro. These plugins use advanced algorithms to detect and block suspicious transactions. Additionally, implement secure payment gateways like Stripe or PayPal that offer built-in fraud detection tools. Enabling features like Address Verification System (AVS) and Card Verification Value (CVV) checks can further reduce the risk. Manually reviewing high-risk orders, setting transaction amount limits, and requiring customers to create accounts before purchasing are also effective strategies.

How do I prevent fake accounts in WooCommerce?

Preventing fake accounts in WooCommerce involves several key steps. First, enable CAPTCHA or Google reCAPTCHA on your registration and login forms to deter automated bots. Implementing Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) adds an additional security layer by requiring users to verify their identity through a secondary method, such as a code sent to their phone. Use a security plugin like MalCare to monitor and block suspicious activities. Regularly audit your user accounts to identify and remove fake or inactive profiles.

How to prevent fraud in e-commerce?

Preventing fraud in e-commerce requires a multi-faceted approach. Start by using comprehensive security plugins like MalCare to protect your website from various threats. Employ fraud prevention tools and secure payment gateways that offer advanced fraud detection features such as machine learning and behavioral analytics. Implement strong authentication methods like 2FA and CAPTCHA to secure user accounts and transactions. Regularly update your website’s software to patch vulnerabilities and educate your customers about safe online practices and recognizing phishing scams. Additionally, monitor transaction logs and manually review suspicious activity to catch potential fraud early.

How to stop spam in WooCommerce orders?

To stop spam in WooCommerce orders, begin by enabling CAPTCHA or reCAPTCHA on your checkout and registration pages to block automated spam bots. Use anti-spam plugins specifically designed for WooCommerce, such as Akismet or WP Armour, which can filter out spammy orders and comments. Keeping your WooCommerce site updated with the latest security patches helps prevent vulnerabilities that spammers may exploit. Finally, regularly monitor your order logs and manually review orders that appear suspicious to ensure no spam slips through the cracks.

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