As the number of people embracing MMOs has increased exponentially over the years, so too has the frequency and scale of fraud related to these games and credit card transactions. Chargebacks resulting from fraudulent credit activity are a growing problem for MMO publishers. Gamasutra has run an enlightening Q&A with Gene Hoffman, Chairman and CEO of Vindicia, a billing and fraud management company with no small amount of expertise in the MMO arena. The interview discussed the ramifications of chargebacks for MMO publishers, such as Blizzard, which sheds some light on the fact that having the dominant industry marketshare comes with a few downsides as well. While not commenting about Blizzard specifically, Hoffman says, "We have noticed across all our gaming clients when it comes to fraud is that the 1% chargeback rate is really a marketing budget. Having your chargebacks too low often means you aren't being aggressive enough on the customer acquisition side." Have a look at Gamasutra's talk with Hoffman, a discussion which ranges from in-game theft to hybrid subscription/micro-transaction business models.
