Purpose of These Rules
These rules allow you to block or allow transactions based on:
- Who the shopper is
- How they behave
- What payment instruments they use
- How often they transact
- Whether their behavior resembles fraud or abuse
1. Shopper Identity & Account History
What this category looks at
Information that identifies who the shopper is and how long they’ve been active.
Common uses
- Blocking repeat abusers
- Allowing known good customers
- Reviewing brand-new shoppers
Examples (plain English)
- Whether the shopper has used the same account before
- How old the shopper account is
- Whether the shopper has transacted successfully in the past
- Whether the shopper has a history of disputes or refunds
2. Card & Bank Account Behavior
What this category looks at
Patterns related to cards and bank accounts, independent of the shopper.
Common uses
- Detecting shared cards
- Detecting compromised payment instruments
- Blocking reused payment details across multiple shoppers
Examples
- A card or bank account being used by multiple shoppers
- A payment method previously associated with disputes
- Repeated use of the same payment method in a short period
3. Device & Technical Fingerprinting
What this category looks at
Whether the same device or browser environment is being reused.
Common uses
- Blocking fraud rings
- Identifying automation or bot usage
- Detecting multi-account abuse
Examples
- Same device used by many shoppers
- Same device attempting many payments quickly
- Device associated with prior fraud
4. Network, IP & Location Signals
What this category looks at
Where the transaction is coming from and how trustworthy the network is.
Common uses
- Blocking anonymized traffic
- Restricting geographies
- Identifying proxy or VPN usage
Examples
- IP address used across many failed transactions
- Traffic coming from anonymizing services
- Country mismatch between shopper, billing, and delivery
5. Velocity & Frequency Controls
What this category looks at
How often things happen — one of the strongest fraud indicators.
Common uses
- Stopping card testing
- Stopping brute-force attempts
- Preventing abuse spikes
Examples
- Too many attempts in a short time
- Too many authorizations in 24 hours
- Too many payment attempts using the same details
6. Authorization & Decline History
What this category looks at
How often transactions have been refused, either by Adyen or issuing banks.
Common uses
- Blocking persistent retry behavior
- Identifying automated retries
Examples
- Many declined transactions over time
- Repeated refusals across different cards or accounts
7. Chargebacks & Fraud History
What this category looks at
Whether the shopper, card, or account has a known dispute or fraud history.
Common uses
- Blocking repeat offenders
- Escalating risky shoppers to review or 3DS
Examples
- Previous fraud chargebacks
- Multiple non-fraud disputes
- Recent notifications of fraud
8. Name & Identity Quality Signals
What this category looks at
Whether names appear synthetic, malformed, or auto-generated.
Common uses
- Detecting bots
- Detecting fake identities
Examples
- Names with excessive symbols
- Names reused many times
- Names that do not resemble real person names
9. Transaction Amount & Payment Context
What this category looks at
The shape of the transaction itself.
Common uses
- Blocking abnormal amounts
- Flagging outliers
Examples
- Very small amounts repeated many times
- Amounts outside normal business ranges
- Mismatch between transaction context and expected behavior
10. Basket, Product & Promotion Signals
What this category looks at
What is being purchased and how discounts are used.
Common uses
- Preventing promo abuse
- Detecting bulk exploitation
Examples
- Excessive promo usage
- Repeated use of the same discount
- Large quantities of the same item
11. Policy & Abuse Management
What this category looks at
Patterns that indicate refund abuse or policy exploitation.
Common uses
- Blocking refund gaming
- Limiting abuse of lenient policies
Examples
- High refund ratios
- Frequent partial refunds
- Repeated disputes without fraud indicators
12. Industry-Specific Signals (e.g., Travel)
What this category looks at
Fields only relevant to specific verticals.
Examples
- Travel timing
- Passenger counts
- Routing details