Stop "Friendly Fraud": Protect Small Businesses from Outdated 1974 Banking Loopholes
The Issue
As a victim of friendly fraud and a professional real estate broker with a flawless 25-year career built on integrity, I know firsthand the ordeal one has to endure when these incidents occur. My experience has opened my eyes to the gaping loopholes in our federal banking system that allow this kind of fraudulent activity to continue unabated, making it nearly impossible for honest business owners and individuals like me to recover our rightful funds.
Friendly fraud, also known as chargeback fraud, occurs when someone makes an online purchase with a credit card and then weaponizes their financial institution to dispute the charge—effectively getting their money back while keeping the product. This type of fraud is worryingly common and has become a multi-billion dollar crisis globally, affecting consumers, merchants, and financial institutions alike. According to the Global Risk Technologies report, friendly fraud accounts for a staggering 86% of all chargeback fraud.
The loopholes in current banking regulations facilitate these fraudulent activities, posing an enormous challenge for merchants. I recently lived this nightmare. An international buyer picked up my merchandise in the U.S., permanently modified the items (completely voiding the card network's warranty rules), and then filed a fraudulent total-loss dispute. Despite my capturing the entire theft on video—backed by unedited text metadata and an active FBI Financial Crimes report—my merchant processor, GoDaddy Payments, shut down the dispute. They hid behind automated software timelines, claiming their dashboard "cannot be reopened."
Like thousands of other hard-working merchants, I was forced to work 18-hour days to do the forensic investigation that billion-dollar financial systems refused to do. When consumers and merchants report these issues, we find ourselves entangled in bureaucratic red tape with little to no resolution. Banks and processors take the path of least resistance, leaving the merchant holding the bag for stolen merchandise and lost revenue.
Our current systems lack the stringent verification processes and human review needed to identify friendly fraud. Congress must step in to update the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) of 1974 and establish a modern Merchant Bill of Rights.
To close these loopholes, we demand that Congress mandate banking regulations to include:
The Modification Bar: Legally bar buyers from filing or winning a chargeback if they permanently alter, install, or modify a product, which automatically voids merchant warranties.
Mandatory Review of Digital Forensic Proof: Force payment processors and card networks to have human eyes review time-stamped video, text metadata, and tracking proof before allowing automated systems to close a dispute.
Accountability for Processor Negligence: Financially penalize merchant processing networks when they refuse to reopen cases or deny due process to small business owners who possess irrefutable, smoking-gun evidence of fraud.

This petition is not just about preventing future incidents of friendly fraud; it's about justice for victims, protecting small business owners, and securing the integrity of our digital economy. I urge Congress to close these banking loopholes, introduce more robust anti-fraud protections, and empower merchants with a fair system.
Your signature on this petition can help bring about much-needed change. Please join me in urging Congress to act. Sign now and help advocate for a more secure, fair financial system for all.

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION YOU DON'T HAVE TO DONATE $$ 

JUST LET'S GIVE THE SCAMMERS WHAT THEY DESERVE. THANK YOU