How do I avoid chargebacks?

This is a common question from windowlickers on the bitcoin trading forums.

The short answer is, you cannot.

The longer answer is this.

All credit cards (gift cards, debit cards, credit cards) offer their users protection. That is the law in most states and a federal US law. Those cards all have an 800# on the back for people to call if they have problems.

The scammers call and say
My card was stolen and someone used it to ____
The card company is required by law to investigate. They will usually just do a chargeback automatically because that is easier for them and puts the burden on the person who accepted the card as payment or used the gift card.

The person who took the card then has to prove that use was legitimate. For example that an Amazon gift card was given as a gift and not used as payment (that is against the Amazon rules)

For online accounts (like PayPal or Skrill) it goes something like this
“My account was hacked and someone sent my money to____”

Paypal takes it one step further. If you read their User Agreement and their “seller protection“, “digital goods and services” are not offered ANY protections against charge back. That means you will be charged back EVEN if you have proof the sale was legitimate.

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