How ActBlue audits and protects donations on our platform

ActBlue fervently guards the integrity of every contribution. Our platform uses automated systems and a series of controls to detect and prevent fraudulent donations.

Our Protections

• Card Verification Value (CVV) requirement: All credit card donations must include a valid CVV. This three- or four-digit code is one of several ways we verify that donors have the card in their possession at the time of contributing.

• Address Verification Service (AVS): We use the industry-standard Address Verification Service, which checks the billing address provided by the donor against the ZIP code on file with the card-issuing bank.

• Foreign indicia blocking: Donations originating from foreign IP addresses, mailing addresses, or BINs (Bank Identification Numbers) are rejected. Out of an abundance of caution, this also applies to U.S. citizens living abroad who are legally permitted to contribute.

• External fraud prevention tool (140+ factors): Every donation is evaluated by a third-party fraud detection system that analyzes more than 140 signals in real time. This includes card type, card issuer country, and recent address changes.

• Controlled Review Process: When elevated risk signals are detected, a member of the ActBlue compliance team examines the flagged contribution. The contribution is either cleared and processed, held pending additional information, or rejected and refunded to the donor.

See how ActBlue's protections compare to other platforms:

Republican Legislation Proves ActBlue Is the Gold Standard

Still have questions?

Don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team here.