Online Stores and Fraud

If you have an online store you need to be careful. The online store I own was registered was registered in my name and linked to my personal bank account. Four days ago I logged on to my account and found a chargeback of almost $2300 that has caused overdraft charges to my account. I initially had no idea what happened but eventually I found that someone had fraudently gotten my password from the merchant company I was registered with and logged in to my store to manually process a $2300 charge with a stolen VISA account. The hacker never got the products because the merchant blocked the transaction and held the funds. A dispute from the cardholder to my merchant processor led to the chargeback against my bank account. I think the hacker was trying to get the goods and actually the fraud section of the merchant processor flagged the transaction and that led ultimately to the chargeback against my account

The problem is the merchant has the money and I never received any funds, so the chargeback caused the overdraft. I am still one week later trying to get my money back from the merchant processor who is holding the funds. I still don't know if this was an inside job by someone in the merchant processor or exactly what happened. I know I am out $2300 dollars that I am fortunately eventually going to get back.

Advice to online store owners that I failed to heed.

1. Those automated "while you sleep commerce sites" need to be closely monitored by you on a regular basis.
2. Regularly change your password and log in information.
3. The merchant processor sent me an email weeks ago asking if I had requested my password and I responded that I definitely did not request my password. I foolishly did not follow up that email with a phone call. I believe that is how my password was stolen and they must have given it out.
4. Nothing is completely secure on the internet and constant vigilance is required.
5. Don't think that your merchant processor can't be fooled also.
6. I no longer have an online store, and if you do, monitor it closely.
7. The best advice is "Trust No One Completely and Verify, Verify, Verify"
8. Of course that bank account is closed now.