<P> Finally, merchants assume the risk of chargebacks by consumers . </P> <P> Credit card security relies on the physical security of the plastic card as well as the privacy of the credit card number . Therefore, whenever a person other than the card owner has access to the card or its number, security is potentially compromised . Once, merchants would often accept credit card numbers without additional verification for mail order purchases . It's now common practice to only ship to confirmed addresses as a security measure to minimise fraudulent purchases . Some merchants will accept a credit card number for in - store purchases, whereupon access to the number allows easy fraud, but many require the card itself to be present, and require a signature (for magnetic stripe cards). A lost or stolen card can be cancelled, and if this is done quickly, will greatly limit the fraud that can take place in this way . European banks can require a cardholder's security PIN be entered for in - person purchases with the card . </P> <P> The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is the security standard issued by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). This data security standard is used by acquiring banks to impose cardholder data security measures upon their merchants . </P> <P> The goal of the credit card companies is not to eliminate fraud, but to "reduce it to manageable levels". This implies that fraud prevention measures will be used only if their cost are lower than the potential gains from fraud reduction, whereas high - cost low - return measures will not be used--as would be expected from organizations whose goal is profit maximisation . </P>

How would this information benefit the credit card companies