Oct 22, 2026 · 6 min · 5 segments
What happens when fraud prevention is so strict that legitimate customers cannot complete a purchase? Richard shares his frustrating attempt to buy concert tickets, complete with valid credit cards…
You can't make your fraud prevention so strict that it stops actual customers from spending money with you.
I'm not saying you should wave every transaction through because somebody has bought something before.
But if a legitimate customer follows your instructions and still can't buy anything, you need a workable way to resolve that, especially when you're selling something time-sensitive like the last two great seats at a show.
Endless login prompts, constant confirmations, rules that won't let somebody enter perfectly valid information, forms locked down so tightly that fixing a typo requires an audience with the administrator.
I've seen access databases where users had to click through five confirmation boxes just to delete a record.
And if you've trained them to click through your warnings, that's probably not the security improvement you were hoping for.
Could you provide a restore option? Could you let someone correct an ordinary typo without giving them permission to rewrite the entire database? You still need appropriate permissions and safeguards, especially for sensitive information or actions you really can't undo.
Protect against real threats, give people clear feedback when something goes wrong, and give legitimate users a practical path to finish what they came to do.
When you put too many barriers between a customer and a purchase, you don't just risk losing a sale, you risk losing their trust, their goodwill, the next show they might have booked, the next order they might have placed.
I'd been a customer of this venue for years, and this experience made me seriously question whether I want to keep doing business there.
You can't make your fraud prevention so strict that it stops actual customers from spending money with you.
I'm not saying you should wave every transaction through because somebody has bought something before.
But if a legitimate customer follows your instructions and still can't buy anything, you need a workable way to resolve that, especially when you're selling something time-sensitive like the last two great seats at a show.
Endless login prompts, constant confirmations, rules that won't let somebody enter perfectly valid information, forms locked down so tightly that fixing a typo requires an audience with the administrator.
I've seen access databases where users had to click through five confirmation boxes just to delete a record.
And if you've trained them to click through your warnings, that's probably not the security improvement you were hoping for.
Could you provide a restore option? Could you let someone correct an ordinary typo without giving them permission to rewrite the entire database? You still need appropriate permissions and safeguards, especially for sensitive information or actions you really can't undo.
Protect against real threats, give people clear feedback when something goes wrong, and give legitimate users a practical path to finish what they came to do.
When you put too many barriers between a customer and a purchase, you don't just risk losing a sale, you risk losing their trust, their goodwill, the next show they might have booked, the next order they might have placed.
I'd been a customer of this venue for years, and this experience made me seriously question whether I want to keep doing business there.
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