Why Escort Services Need High Risk Merchant Accounts

The help of a high risk merchant account provider is indispensable. A good one will have an efficient payment gateway system and a host of anti-fraud tools that prevent credit card hacking. Operators of an escort service who have a huge clientèle base will also find great benefit in the flexible accounting methods such as daily/weekly/monthly statement reporting and affiliate program management.

Companionship has always been the most-sought after experiences for everyone of us. People would fall in love, get married, get divorced, and eventually move on to find another companion because no one would simply be able to live without it. Not counting your 55-year old grinch of a neighbor who never wanted seeing sunlight pour through his window nor see children playing outside his fence, of course. Bottom line is that you may be single, married, divorced, widowed, swinging, etc., but you still would look for a someone to share experiences with you. Paid or not. Right?

PAYING FOR COMPANIONSHIP

I never paid anyone for companionship, though of course if I did, it came in other forms like a trip to the Japanese restaurant or a piece of sexy T-shirt in the department store. And it would have to be a close friend, another girl and not a guy! But of course it's because I'm a woman. Men would most likely pay, especially if we're talking escort service. That doesn't mean all escort agencies employ women. Generally, there's more women employed than men, and if there's a mix of gender in a particular escort agency, it's rare.

Escort services are legal, they are taxed, and usually they are built with the help of a high risk merchant account provider. The case of fraud involved in the escort service business is due mainly to the fact that it's being advertised and transacted online. Offline, an escort may cheat on a client by pretending she needed to take something back from the car as soon as she gets paid. And then disappear. Online, a client may arrange for an escort service to be scheduled when he visits the town, but get ripped by credit card hackers.

That's why the help of a high risk merchant account provider is indispensable. A good one will have an efficient payment gateway system and a host of anti-fraud tools that prevent credit card hacking. Operators of an escort service who have a huge clientèle base will also find great benefit in the flexible accounting methods such as daily/weekly/monthly statement reporting and affiliate program management.

Continued:

Who Says Escort Services Don't Need High Risk Merchant Accounts?

Get Lucky! Scoring a Lottery Merchant Account Offshore Part 2

A Tale from Texas

It's not easy being deployed in Iraq, U.S. servicemen would say. Really! Who's kidding nobody? But it makes all the sacrifices easier when by the time a soldier comes home, he's got US$200,000 waiting for him in his native land. That's how lucky Sergeant Bethurel Griffin got. Before leaving Texas back in 2006, he joined a lottery syndicate and made a bet on the US$12 Million Texas Lotto jackpot. Now he's not only a walking epitome of luck, he's also a pride of his nation.

Now I'm from Texas and so I couldn't help but pinpoint this particular story of luck for simple reasons. What if Sgt. Griffin was in Iraq and made a bet in the Texas lottery and won? Would he have gotten the prize? If you are aware of the FTC regulations when it comes to online betting, especially in lottery, the answer is simple: No. Not only will Sgt. Griffin be allowed to buy the lottery tickets, he won't get his prize too. The FTC requires local lottery ticket retailers to sell only within the state boundaries. Selling and buying lottery tickets through mail, phone and Internet is considered illegal in the U.S.

Virtual Gibraltar

But if Sgt. Griffin had forgotten to make that bet before leaving Texas, and still thought his luck cannot be contained anymore, he could still have made a stake at a lottery prize offshore. Now I won't corrupt Sgt. Griffin's civilian duties while overseas. I'll look at it from the perspective of the common guy. What if some dude named Luke wanted to play at Gibraltar Casino but didn't have enough money to buy plane tickets, pay for hotel accommodations, and pull out some cash for the buffet meals? Not to mention spend time taking out some British ladies to dinner?

The rest of the story continues here!

Get Lucky! Scoring a Lottery Merchant Account Offshore Part 2

Get Lucky! Scoring a Lottery Merchant Account Offshore Part 1

And now let's go back to the original question: So what do I need to do if I want to sell lottery tickets online? First of all, it will be easier to set up this kind of high risk business offshore. As we've discussed earlier, the FTC allows companies to set up lottery businesses as long as they sell the tickets locally (in participating states) and never through mail, telephone, or online. That means your customers are limited only to the residents of your participating state. Elsewhere in the world, e-commerce lottery merchants are making good profit off worldwide buyers. So if you are bent on setting up this type of business, you would need to get a lottery merchant account offshore. This will make things easier for you as doing business offshore has a hefty number of advantages.


GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES

I must confess it has taken me sometime to get the whole picture of buying lottery tickets online. Years ago, I mistook buying them as legal, selling illegal. I had originally thought anyone can buy tickets anywhere. Of course, my naivety has only been born of the fact that I don't really buy lottery tickets. Not even offline. Please don't ask me why, or whether I should try!

So obviously I did my own research and came up with interesting ideas. Lottery would always remind me of all kinds of gambling games, except that it's really big time. Jackpot prizes go over the roof. Unfortunately, I've been hearing lately that although lottery sales have been breaking records, Powerball wins are getting quieter. The immensity of the jackpot prizes give people slimmer chances of winning. But of course, all high rolling lottery games follow this path.

The thing with buying and selling lottery is that most of it is dependent on the Federal Trade Commission's regulations. According to FTC, buying and selling lottery tickets through mail, telephone or the Internet are illegal. Oh, and did I mention about doing it offshore yet?

Some old colleague asked, "So what do I need to do if I want to sell lottery tickets online?" I would like to answer her, but I felt like stepping back and saying "Are you sure you really want to?" But if most of you are like her, first take a quick look at Insider Tricks to Successful Merchant Account Application to get a good idea of what going through a high risk business entails.

And now let's go back to the original question: So what do I need to do if I want to sell lottery tickets online?

Continued:

Lottery Merchant Accounts

VISA e-Commerce Guide to Risk Management: Travel Agencies

Tools and Best Practices for Building a Secure Internet Business

Ok, I got lazy today. Not an impressive way to start the week, but I got good reasons to be. Out from the treasure trove of high risk merchant account providers I spotted a copy of VISA's e-Commerce Guide to Risk Management. What a blessing for all of us, although the guide could have practically been buried in the box for eons. And even if it was, most high risk merchants have unfaithfully forgotten VISA's attempt to enlighten them when it comes to doing business online anyways.

It's just that the playing field is never the same as doing it with a brick store. Otherwise, VISA wouldn't bother.

For this time I'd focused on Travel Agencies, as being a traveler I've always been concerned about airline ticket and travel planning frauds. Read the guide, get wise, and outdo the scammers!

E-COMMERCE START UP

Recognize your potential sales agent liability. Understanding your risk exposure can help you take appropriate steps to minimize it, and protect your agency from losses associated with customer disputes and fraud.

As a sales agent of an airline, for example, your agency may be liable for the entire amount of an airline ticket if it is disputed by the customer or purchased with a stolen account number. To mitigate risk, you need to establish e-commerce policies and procedures that address the following factors:

1. An approved authorization request indicates that the account is in good standing. However, the response is not proof that the legitimate card holder is making the purchase, nor is it a guarantee of payment. In most cases, therefore, airlines are liable for fraudulent card not present transactions even when they were approved by the Issuer.

2. Even if a travel agency is not a Visa merchant subject to Visa regulations, the airline partner is. In most fraud-related cases, the airline transfers financial liability to the travel agency partner as part of the contractual agreement.

WEBSITE UTILITY

1. Require website membership to book airline tickets and other travel series such a hotel accommodations and car rentals. By requiring customers to become members of your website service, you can collect additional customer data that can help you assess risk. When establishing member profiles:

• -Verify the customer data that you collect before you store it.

• -Ensure that strong security measures such as secured data storage and limited employee access are in place to protect sensitive customer data.

2. Capture and retain Internet protocol addresses. It is important to know the IP addresses if the ISPs from which your customers make purchases. With a database of these addresses, you can develop fraud-screening tools based on transaction characteristics.

3. Display a website notice that the customer's billing addresses will be verified. If you access Address Verification Service (AVS) offline, you may encounter address verification failures long after your customer has completed booking. By letting customers know that the billing address will be verified, you can prepare them to understand potential address inquiries later. This website notice should clearly state that airline tickets cannot be issued until the customer's billing address has been verified by the Issuer.

4. Require a waiting period of at least four to six hours between ticket purchase and flight time. Tickets purchase just before a flight may indicate fraud risk. To protect your company from potential losses, you need adequate time to verify the validity of the customer and payment card before travel begins.

VISA CARD ACCEPTANCE

FRAUD PREVENTION

VISA e-COMMERCE GUIDE TO RISK MANAGEMENT

More of VISA's e-commerce protocol will come in the future articles. Just be reminded that for every high risk merchant account service you render to your customers, there's always a great percentage that your customers may be hackers or spammers. It pays to destroy their modus operandi.