Blog

How to Spot an IPTV Laundering Scheme

Your nondescript web hosting merchant may be harboring pirates. G2 analysts have discovered a trend where illegal internet protocol television (IPTV) vendors launder transactions through seemingly benign web hosting shops. Bad actors stealthily avoid detection from merchant acquirers by funneling transactions through a ubiquitous enterprise like web hosting. Take the case below. The first image… read more

Post Date: Posted on August 24, 2023August 24, 2023 Post Categories: Merchant Monitoring, Money Laundering, Transaction Laundering

G2’s 2023 Drug Watch List is now live!

We have added some trending pharmaceuticals and illegal drugs to this year’s list. Some examples: Semaglutide: Semaglutide is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in two FDA-approved injectable prescription-only drugs: Ozempic and Wegovy. Ozempic is approved to help people with Type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar levels. Wegovy is approved for weight loss. Both drugs contain… read more

Post Date: Posted on August 4, 2023August 5, 2023 Post Categories: Illegal Drugs, Merchant Monitoring, Merchant Risk

Gambling, Gadgets, and The Risk to Your Merchant Portfolio

Bogus “gadget” websites are putting merchant acquirers at risk for card network fines and assessments. G2 analysts have seen a recent increase in illegal gambling sites laundering their transactions through gadget sites—usually a simple site selling a few select items, often consumer electronics, power tools, or sporting goods. Transaction laundering—one merchant processing payment card transactions… read more

Post Date: Posted on November 2, 2022November 2, 2022 Post Categories: Merchant Monitoring, Money Laundering, Online Gambling

Comply by October 15: New Adult Merchant Content Guidelines

Acquirers must comply by October 15, 2021 with Mastercard’s extended Specialty Merchant Registration requirements—that aim to crackdown on unauthorized and illegal adult content. According to Mastercard, the updated rules require acquiring banks to “certify that the seller of adult content has effective controls in place to monitor, block and, where necessary, take down all illegal… read more

Post Date: Posted on September 24, 2021September 29, 2021 Post Categories: High-risk Merchants, Merchant Monitoring

Rise in Transaction Laundering Hate Groups

Tensions in America rise as the pandemic-fueled economic recession sweeps the nation. Hate groups are among many bad actors who are taking advantage of the current social and political turmoil by peddling violence, misinformation, and fraudulent products online. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, nearly 1,000 hate groups were located in the United States… read more

Post Date: Posted on September 10, 2020April 20, 2021 Post Categories: Hate Groups, Merchant Fraud, Transaction Laundering

Nutraceutical Marketing and Regulatory Risk

When onboarding a nutraceutical merchant, how do you know which claims are compliant versus which claims cross the line? Obviously, a dietary supplement cannot be marketed with claims to miraculously cure COVID-19, but can it be marketed to relieve joint pain? Or reduce inflammation? What if the merchant’s website is claim-free, but its social media includes claims to help treat hypertension? Can a merchant… read more

Post Date: Posted on May 18, 2020July 7, 2020 Post Categories: Blog, False Claims, FDA, Merchant Risk, Misleading Marketing Claims, Nutraceuticals, Problematic Health Claims

FDA Cracks Down on CBD Merchants

Last week, the FDA took off the gloves in its fight against illicit CBD products. The agency updated its consumer advisory on CBD to warn of possible negative side effects and issued 15 warning letters to CBD companies – which is more CBD-related warning letters than the FDA has issued in the past three years…. read more

Post Date: Posted on December 3, 2019April 16, 2020 Post Categories: CBD Laws, CBD Merchant Risk, FDA Warning Letters

Shifting Online Gambling Landscape Requires Better Merchant Monitoring

It has been almost a year since the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), a federal law that had prohibited most states from authorizing online gambling. Almost immediately, Delaware and New Jersey legalized sports betting (joining Nevada, where sports betting has long been legal) – followed in quick succession… read more

Post Date: Posted on April 10, 2019June 11, 2021 Post Categories: Merchant Risk, Online Gambling

Keep an Eye on Illegal Contact Lens Merchants… They Could Pose a Risk

Did you know that all contact lenses – even decorative non-corrective contact lenses – are considered prescription-only medical devices in the US? That’s right! If a merchant is shipping contact lenses (even crazy vampire-eye lenses!) to the United States without properly requiring a prescription, then that merchant is violating US law and at risk of breaking card… read more

Post Date: Posted on April 4, 2019April 22, 2021 Post Categories: Merchant Boarding, Merchant Fraud

Money Laundering & Misbranded Prescription Drugs

A recent press release issued by the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that two men have been sentenced to imprisonment for the illegal online sale of misbranded prescription drugs and a conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Post Date: Posted on September 4, 2018February 26, 2020 Post Categories: High-risk Merchants, Merchant Fraud, Money Laundering