Every eCommerce merchant has four primary objectives. Assemble an elite team, accelerate product visibility to prospects, convert those prospects into loyal, repeat customers, and fortify the store against fraudulent customers.

The first three objectives often dominate strategic discussions. However, most merchants neglect fraud prevention until it's too late. Look at the data. Statista’s 2024 analysis of fraud trends found that post-purchase fraud (including chargebacks and refund/policy abuse) was the predominant type of fraud merchants dealt with last year.

In our earlier guides, we delved into strategies for blocking and blacklisting fraudulent customers on Shopify and Stripe. This installment shifts focus to WooCommerce. We'll uncover in-depth insights on how to block and blacklist fraudulent customers on WooCommerce. You'll learn the best techniques and gain a nuanced understanding of excellent eCommerce payment security.

How to Block and Blacklist Fraudulent WooCommerce Customers

WooCommerce has yet to offer native tools primarily for blocking and restricting problematic customers from your store. But, there are vital third-party plugins for that specific purpose. With these tools, you can block a fraudster's email, phone number, IP address, or location.

While these plugins are effective, they may not cover cases like friendly fraud, which research shows is rising. For comprehensive protection, you need an advanced anti-fraud tool like Chargeflow to prevent losses. With Chargeflow, you can automate chargeback prevention and streamline the process.

Let's break down the various options for restricting fraudsters from your WooCommerce store:

Option 1:  Blacklist and Block Fraudulent WooCommerce Customers Using Email Address or Phone Number

The WooCommerce Blacklist Manager makes it possible to block and blacklist fraudulent customers on WooCommerce using their email address or phone number. This anti-fraud solution enhances your store's security. You proactively restrict customers suspected of fraudulent activities and ensure a secure shopping experience.

Here's how to blacklist fraudulent WooCommerce customer's email or phone number with the WooCommerce Blacklist Manager plugin:

1. Install the WooCommerce Blacklist Manager

• From your WordPress Dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New.
• Search for WooCommerce Blacklist Manager.
• Click "Install Now" next to the plugin, then activate it once the installation is complete.

2. Add Customers to the Blacklist
   
   • After activation, click on the Blacklist option to add a suspect to the blacklist.
   • You can enter the email address, phone number, or both in the provided fields.
   • When you're done, click Add as Suspect to temporarily mark the customer as suspicious, which allows you to monitor them further before making a final decision.
3. Move Suspect to Blocklist
   
   • Go to the Suspect list you created in the Blacklist Manager.
   • Locate the perps you want to block from accessing your eCommerce store.
   • Click on the red cross icon close to their information to initiate blocking.
   • Confirm to add the scammer to your blocklist after a confirmation popup will appear.

The customer cannot order from or register accounts with the same credentials. You can also configure your blocklist to trigger an email notification and error message for admins each time the user attempts to order or register.

Option 2: Blacklist Fraudulent WooCommerce Customers By Geolocation

Research shows that some locations are generally prone to fraud. Therefore, blocking and blacklisting fraudulent WooCommerce customers based on geolocation is not a bad idea. That’s especially true if you notice a spike in fraudulent transactions from said location.

Here's a step-by-step process for implementing geolocation fraud filtering in your WooCommerce store.

How to block and blacklist WooCommerce fraudsters with geolocation.

a. Enable Geolocation Filtering in WooCommerce

WooCommerce has an in-built geolocation feature that makes use of the customer's IP address to block pre-defined regions or blacklist users attempting to place orders from flagged locations.

To turn it on:

1. Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > General from your WordPress Dashboard.
2. Under Default Customer Location, select Geolocate (with or without caching support).
3. Use geolocation data to create rules or combine it with an anti-fraud plugin for optimal coverage.

b. Install a WooCommerce Plugin

Several plugins on the WooCommerce marketplace offer geolocation blocking and customer blacklisting. Notable options include:

• WooCommerce Anti-Fraud: Automatically flags suspicious orders based on location, email domains, and IP addresses.
• IP Geo Block: This plugin restricts access to your site from specific regions or IP ranges.
• FraudLabs Pro: Offers considerable fraud detection and prevention, which includes geolocation checks.

To use any of these plugins, install your preferred tool from the repository or upload the plugin zip file. Then, configure the settings to block chosen geolocation or IP ranges and set rules for order flagging, such as blocking high-risk orders, countries, or transactions with mismatched billing or shipping addresses.

c. Use a Firewall or CDN with Geolocation Filtering

Many Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and firewalls provide location-based blocking at the network level. This can be very efficient, as access is restricted at the network level.

Some notable service providers to consider are:

• Cloudflare: Provides freemium and premium options for blocking specific regions or countries.
• Sucuri: Has robust security features with IP and geolocation filtering.

To enable CDN or firewall geolocation filtering:

1. Sign up for a service  
2. Add your website to the service and configure the DNS setting.
3. Enable geolocation features and set up country-specific blocking.

The service will effectively become operational.

Option 3: Block Fraudulent WooCommerce Customers with Chargeflow

True fraud cases are declining year-over-year…platform owners and payment service providers continue to outsmart fraudsters with advanced technology. So most fraud cases you'll likely face on WooCommerce are friendly and return/policy abuse (which often turn into costly chargebacks).

That’s why you need Chargeflow, the acclaimed automated chargeback management solution for eCommerce. Integrating Chargeflow with your WooCommerce store helps you stop incoming chargebacks. It also gives you ample data to pinpoint fraud patterns, so you can block and blacklist those scammers with ease.

Here’s how to use Chargeflow to block and blacklist fraudulent customers on WooCommerce.

Step 1: Install the Native Chargeflow WooCommerce App

Install the all-new platform-native app if you haven't signed up for a Chargeflow account. Chargeflow specializes in managing chargebacks and providing anti-fraud solutions.

Step 2: Configure Chargeflow Alerts

Chargeflow Alert is an out-of-the-box service that helps you abort ~90% of incoming chargebacks before they materialize. It notifies you of impending disputes or high-risk transactions. So scammers will never take you by surprise.

Step 3: Review Real-Time Data

You can manually review the order when an alert is triggered. If you determine it's fraudulent:

• Cancel the order: Use WooCommerce to cancel the order directly from the admin panel and mark it fraudulent.
• Blacklist the Customer: Add the scammer to your WooCommerce blocklist.
• Use Fraud Data To Optimize Systems: Chargeflow provides analyzed data from customer touchpoints to help you optimize fraud prevention systems and protect your store.

What truly sets Chargeflow apart is that your data is safe and protected. More so, unlike other fraud prevention solutions, Chargeflow Alerts excel in minimizing false positives, ensuring legitimate transactions aren't mistakenly flagged. That’s one of the reasons leading eCommerce platforms like Shopify and Stripe rate Chargeflow highly.

Block and Blacklist Fraudulent Customers on WooCommerce

If fraudsters are using chargebacks, returns/refund fraud, or card testing to steal from your business, you can block and blacklist them. Failing to do that could lead to disputes, higher decline rates, excessive fees, and infrastructure strain. It damages your reputation with card issuers, disrupts legitimate activity, and distorts business data. It harms ecosystem health. That’s why platform owners like WooCommerce fraud cases seriously to mitigate the impacts. Prolonged fraud triggers card network monitoring programs and even merchant business closures.

Use the insights we’ve shared in this piece to block and blacklist fraudulent customers on WooCommerce. Start by blocking suspicious emails and phone numbers with the WooCommerce blacklist manager. Use geolocation filtering to restrict high-risk regions on WooCommerce. And then, automate chargeback prevention with Chargeflow to proactively stop fraud and gain valuable insight into the entire process.

‍Contact our sales team if you need further assistance.