According to recent information from the US Department of Commerce,  in 95% of the cases where a consumer is defrauded with a card, they receive restitution; where the merchant is defrauded, only 25% recover their loss.  So it is important that you take all possible steps to make sure that credit card is good.  If you are suspicious about a card, you may find it helpful to ask the prospective buyer to send you a scanned image, front and back of the card and one of their signature (most scammers don't have physical possession of the card).

Most of our merchants have had excellent dealings with overseas customers, however, please note that certain countries have an EXTREMELY high rate of credit card fraud.  AVS (the U.S. address verification system) does not work internationally and you won't be able to get address verification of any overseas order.  If you get an order from Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, a developing country or any of the former Soviet republics, we very strongly recommend that you ask the buyer to send an international money order or execute a wire transfer because the rate of fraud from those countries is very high.

For more advice on this issue, you may want to contact your bank or your local Chamber of Commerce.

*   Dubious, at least one dealer has reported fraud and additional dealers have reported questionable buyers or communication. We do not recommend doing business with credit card holders in these countries; use money orders or Western Union wire transfers.
** Known high rate of fraud; multiple dealers have been affected by fraud from this country. We strongly recommend doing business with individuals in this country ONLY via Western Union cash transfer.