Business owners are juggling a lot – from managing employees to meeting customer expectations – they are constantly focused on problem-solving multiple issues at once.

**However, one issue that may fly under the radar for businesses is false declines.**

A  [false decline](/content/blog/all-you-need-to-know-about-false-declines-forter/index.html) is a legitimate transaction blocked due to being labeled as fraudulent.

The question is: Why should businesses care about the effects of false declines?

### The Impacts of False Declines

Any business in any industry can experience false declines. False declines rarely affect traditional brick and mortar businesses. Since a physical card is presented and charged, the transactions are far more likely to go through.

**This means that it’s online businesses and transactions that are at greater risk.** No matter the industry, any business transacting online can experience false declines. Some examples include:

- Fashion retailers
- Technology
- Home improvement
- Software

### How do False Declines Happen?

Contrary to in-person transactions, online purchases don’t require a physical card. They simply require some account information, from a credit card number to the security code. Because of this, anti-fraud protection will often wrongfully block these transactions, since the information is easier to obtain for fraudsters than stealing a physical card.

### Conclusion

All online businesses need to worry about false declines. Their effects are well-documented and can [cost businesses](/content/blog/finding-numo-new-user-missed-opportunity/index.html) financially and even affect their relationships with customers. They’re an unfortunate reality for all businesses regardless of industry.

However, there are tools that help keep false declines to a minimum while preventing fraudsters from targeting your business. [Forter’s Payment Protection](/content/payment-protection/index.html) service, for example, effectively blocks fraudulent transactions while simultaneously reducing false declines by up to 90%.

### Is Your Business Missing Out?

False declines are a detriment to new shoppers. For online merchants, this means losing out on potential business. Check out our [NUMO report](/content/blog/finding-numo-new-user-missed-opportunity/index.html) to find out just how much you could be missing out on.