How Non-Profits Can Stop Card Testing on Donation Pages Without Killing Generosity

Introduction

Non-profit organizations are the lifeblood of social change, operating on the generosity of donors to fund their critical missions. In the digital age, online donation pages have become the primary vehicle for this generosity, allowing for quick, seamless contributions from supporters worldwide. However, this accessibility also exposes non-profits to a growing and insidious threat: payment fraud.

Specifically, a practice known as card testing is plaguing donation pages. Fraudsters exploit these pages to validate stolen credit card numbers, leaving organizations to deal with the messy and expensive fallout. This article will explore how non-profits can implement robust, modern security measures to stop card testing in its tracks without creating a cumbersome donation process that discourages legitimate giving.

According to the 2023 Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) Payments Fraud and Control Survey, 65% of organizations experienced attempted or actual payments fraud. While this figure covers all businesses, non-profits are increasingly attractive targets due to their focus on frictionless user experiences, making their systems vulnerable to exploitation.

Click to Tweet

What is Card Testing and Why Are Donation Pages a Target?

Card testing is a type of fraudulent activity where cybercriminals test the validity of a large list of stolen credit card numbers. They do this by making small transactions, often just a dollar or two, on websites with weak security controls. Donation pages for non-profits have become a favorite target for several reasons:

• Low Transaction Amounts: A $1 donation is common and rarely raises immediate red flags, allowing fraudsters to blend in with legitimate donors.
• Emphasis on Frictionless Giving: Non-profits rightly prioritize making the donation process as easy as possible. This often means requiring minimal information from the donor, which unfortunately also removes security hurdles for criminals.
• High Volume of Transactions: Attackers use automated bots to submit hundreds or even thousands of these small transactions in a short period. Each successful transaction confirms that a stolen card is "e;live"e; and can be used for larger fraudulent purchases or sold on the dark web.

For a non-profit, this isn't just a minor annoyance; it's a full-blown attack that can have severe financial and operational consequences.

The Hidden Costs of Card Testing for Non-Profits

The impact of a card testing attack goes far beyond the small transaction amounts. The real damage is often realized after the fact and can be substantial.

Financial Drain

The most immediate impact is financial. Each transaction, whether legitimate or fraudulent, incurs a processing fee from the payment gateway. When a bot makes 10,000 attempts, those fees add up.

Even worse are the chargebacks. Once the legitimate owner of a stolen card notices the unauthorized transaction, they will report it to their bank, which initiates a chargeback. For every chargeback, the non-profit is typically hit with:

• The loss of the original transaction amount.
• A separate, non-refundable chargeback fee, which can range from $15 to $100 per transaction.

If a card testing attack results in hundreds of successful transactions, the subsequent chargeback fees can quickly spiral into thousands of dollars, draining precious funds from the organization's mission. Furthermore, a high chargeback rate can put a non-profit in a high-risk category, leading to higher processing fees or even the termination of their merchant account, crippling their ability to accept online donations altogether.

Operational Burden

The operational cost is just as damaging. Staff members must spend countless hours sifting through transactions to identify the fraudulent ones, issuing manual refunds to avoid chargebacks, and compiling evidence to dispute claims. This is time and effort that should be dedicated to the non-profit's core activities, not to cleaning up after criminals.

The Donor's Dilemma: Security vs. Generosity

In response to fraud, the knee-jerk reaction can be to tighten security by adding multiple layers of verification: complex CAPTCHAs, mandatory account creation, or strict Address Verification Service (AVS) checks.

The problem? These measures introduce friction.

A potential donor, inspired to give in the moment, can be quickly deterred by a clunky, demanding donation form. This friction leads to abandoned donations and introduces the risk of "e;false declines,"e; where legitimate donations are blocked due to overly aggressive security rules. This is the central challenge: how do you stop bad actors without turning away good ones?

Strategic, Frictionless Solutions to Stop Card Testing

The answer lies in implementing intelligent, invisible security layers that work in the background. These modern solutions analyze data points behind the scenes to assess risk without requiring extra steps from the donor.

1. Implement Intelligent Card Issuer Verification

Before a transaction is even processed, you can learn a lot from the first few digits of the card number, known as the Bank Identification Number (BIN). A Card Issuer Verification service provides instant details about the card, including:

• The issuing bank and country.
• The card type (credit, debit, prepaid, virtual).

This is a powerful first line of defense. Fraudsters frequently use prepaid cards for testing because they are anonymous and difficult to trace. By automatically flagging or blocking transactions from prepaid or virtual cards, non-profits can filter out a significant portion of fraudulent attempts without impacting most donors. Read our guide on How BIN Lookup API Prevents Card Testing Fraud to understand more.

2. Leverage IP Location Intelligence

Every user connecting to your donation page has an IP address, which can be traced to a geographic location. An IP Location Intelligence tool can cross-reference the donor's location with the card's issuing country (obtained via BIN lookup).

If a card issued in the United States is suddenly used to make a donation from an IP address in a high-risk country, it's a major red flag. This location mismatch is a classic indicator of fraud and can be used to automatically block the transaction.

3. Detect High-Risk Connections

Fraudsters don't use their own internet connections; they hide behind anonymous proxies, VPNs, and other services to mask their true identity and location. A VPN & Proxy Detection service can analyze the connection itself to determine if it's coming from a known proxy, a data center, or a residential address. Since the vast majority of legitimate donors give from their home or mobile network, blocking donations from anonymous sources is an effective and low-friction way to prevent automated attacks.

Putting It All Together: A Layered Defense

No single tool is a complete solution. The most effective strategy is a layered approach that combines these data points into a comprehensive risk score. A modern Payment Fraud Analysis solution automates this process in real-time.

Imagine a new donation attempt. In milliseconds, the system can answer:

• Is this a prepaid card from a high-risk bank?
• Does the donor's IP location match the card's country of origin?
• Is the user hiding behind a VPN or proxy?
• Have there been multiple failed donation attempts from this IP in the last five minutes?

Based on the answers, the system assigns a risk score. Legitimate donations sail through without a hitch. Suspicious transactions can be automatically blocked, preventing the fraud before it ever hits your payment gateway. This multi-layered, data-driven approach is the key to creating a robust defense against payment fraud.

Conclusion

Non-profits exist to do good, and they rely on the generosity of others to achieve their goals. Card testing attacks exploit this generosity, turning a source of funding into a financial and operational liability. However, fighting back doesn't require building a fortress that keeps everyone out.

By adopting a smart, layered security strategy that works invisibly in the background, non-profits can stop card testing bots, eliminate chargeback headaches, and protect their revenue stream. Most importantly, they can do so while preserving the simple, frictionless donation experience that encourages generosity and allows them to focus on what truly matters: their mission.