American Express Reason Code F31 EMV Lost/Stolen/Non-Received

Dispute

American Express

Card Issuer Name

F31

Reason Code

Fraud

Claim

A transaction was made using an actual credit card, but the cardholder claims they didn’t participate in the transaction since their card was stolen, lost, or never received. The merchant didn’t detect the fraud because they manually keyed the transaction or used a terminal that wasn’t PIN and chip-enabled.

Cause

Criminal fraud was committed.
The merchant didn’t get a manual imprint of the key-entered transaction.
The merchant didn’t identify a card-not-present transaction.
The merchant failed to ensure the card was swiped, or its chip read.

Response

Cardholders and issuers have 120 days to file a dispute related to the claim against the merchant.

Merchants have 20 days to respond to the claim in dispute.

Steps to Prevention

The merchant should:

Only use EMV-compliant terminals.
Obtain proper validation, including PINs or imprints.
Take imprints of card-present transactions.
Train staff on the right procedures for handling terminals.
Make proper differentiation between card-present and card-not-present transactions when clearing mail, phone, or internet orders.