How do I turn on Stripe Radar and create rules to reduce fraud and chargebacks?

Turn on Stripe Radar in the Stripe Dashboard, then use a small set of rules to block obvious fraud, review borderline payments, and request 3D Secure on risky transactions. Radar’s machine learning uses Stripe network data; your rules add the policy layer.

If you’re trying to reduce fraud and chargebacks, the goal is not “more rules.” It’s better rules: a few high-signal controls, tuned against your own payment patterns.

1) Open Radar in the Stripe Dashboard

Start in the Stripe Dashboard and go to Radar.

If Radar isn’t visible:

• Confirm you have permission to edit fraud settings
• Make sure your account has Radar access
• Contact Stripe support or sales if you need help enabling it

Radar works with Stripe payment flows such as:

• Checkout
• Payment Element
• Payment Links
• Direct API integrations

You do not need a separate fraud stack to get started.

2) Create your first rules

In Radar > Rules, create a rule and choose the action you want Stripe to take:

• Block — stop the payment
• Review — send it for manual review
• Request 3D Secure — add another authentication step where available

A good rollout order is:

1. Review suspicious payments first
2. Measure false positives
3. Convert only the clearest fraud patterns to Block

That keeps conversion loss under control.

Signals worth using

Build rules around observable risk signals, not gut feel:

• Risk score
• Card country vs. IP country
• Billing country vs. shipping country
• CVC / AVS results
• Amount
• Attempt velocity
• Repeated use of the same card, email, or device
• Disposable or suspicious email patterns
• First-time customer behavior

3) Starter rules that usually make sense

Here’s a practical starting set for most businesses:

Fraud pattern	Rule action	Why it helps
Very high risk score	Block	Stops the clearest fraud fast
Country mismatch plus high order value	Review	Catches cross-border abuse without blocking every global buyer
Many attempts from the same card/email/device	Block	Reduces card testing and bot-driven fraud
Failed CVC or AVS on risky orders	Review or Block	Filters low-quality payment attempts
High-value first order from a new customer	Review	Protects margin on orders with no history
Risky international card payment	Request 3D Secure	Adds authentication and can shift liability in some cases

If you want a simple first pass, start with 3 rules:

• Block extreme risk
• Review medium risk
• Add 3D Secure to higher-risk cross-border payments

That’s usually enough to move the needle without crushing conversion.

4) Reduce chargebacks, not just fraud

Fraud and chargebacks overlap, but they are not the same problem.

Radar helps stop bad payments before they settle. To reduce chargebacks, pair Radar with dispute prevention:

• Use Stripe Radar to block obvious fraud
• Request access to Stripe’s dispute prevention tools powered by Verifi from Visa and Ethoca from Mastercard
• Make sure your statement descriptor is recognizable
• Include a clear support contact on receipts and invoices
• Keep refund and cancellation terms easy to find

If customers file disputes because they don’t recognize the charge, Radar alone won’t solve that. You need clearer payment messaging too.

5) Tune rules from real data

Don’t launch 20 rules on day one.

Start small, then watch:

• Fraud rate
• Dispute rate
• Approval rate
• Manual review volume
• False positives

Then adjust.

What to look for

• If a rule blocks too many good customers, move it to Review
• If a rule catches obvious fraud with almost no false positives, keep it as Block
• If a rule is noisy but useful, narrow the threshold
• If you see repeated abuse patterns, add velocity-based rules

A good Radar setup gets tighter over time. It should not stay static.

6) A practical rollout plan

If you want the shortest path to useful protection, do this:

1. Open Radar in the Dashboard
2. Add one high-risk block rule
3. Add one review rule for borderline traffic
4. Add one 3D Secure rule for risky card-not-present payments
5. Monitor disputes and conversion for 1–2 weeks
6. Expand only where the data supports it

That gives you control without guessing.

7) When to contact Stripe

Contact Stripe if you need help with:

• Radar access or account setup
• Custom fraud controls
• Dispute prevention tools
• Risk scoring for non-Stripe transactions
• A review of your rule strategy for high-volume or international traffic

For larger businesses, Stripe can help you tune Radar around your real fraud patterns instead of generic thresholds.

Bottom line

To turn on Stripe Radar and reduce fraud and chargebacks, do three things:

• Enable Radar in the Dashboard
• Create a small set of review, block, and 3D Secure rules
• Tune those rules against fraud rate, dispute rate, and conversion

That is the Stripe way: use the network signal, add your policy layer, and keep the rules close to the payment data.