How Businesses Can Avoid Fraud Online
Accepting online payments is an undeniably convenient way to boost your profit. At the same time, it introduces risks. In 2017 alone, 16.7 million people fell victim to identity theft. If a customer becomes a victim of identity theft while shopping on your website, they’ll form a negative view of your business. Similarly, if this happens because you didn’t protect someone’s data, you could experience fines. Because of this, you need to do what you can to prevent online fraud. Here are some top tips for making your efforts easier.
Use address verification tools
When your customer registers their credit card, they’ll attach a particular address to it. Each time they make a transaction online, their credit card company will try to match the address they enter with the address they hold. By using an address verification service, you help your customers stay safe.
Address verification services usually decline transactions when the address is incorrect or a partial match. Each type of entry comes with a unique code. For example, a correct entry will have a different code to a partially correct entry or an entirely incorrect one.
As a seller, you can choose which codes you want to filter. You can decide that all transactions using an entirely correct address can pass. It’s also likely that you’ll reject all payments with an incorrect address. You can then decide whether you want to reject partially correct addresses or not.
The way your handle verification of a credit card is no small thing. Chances are if your business accepts credit card and digital payments then you have standards you need to meet. Address verification is a simple step toward adequately protecting valuable financial data.
Protect your customers against stolen data
Some credit card detail thieves are savvier than others. They’ll provide the correct address as well as the right credit card numbers. Therefore, you need to start looking for patterns in behavior.
In 2018, 12% of businesses suffered a cyberattack the prior year. That is alongside the growing concern surrounding cybersecurity, where 71% of businesses are worried about cyber threats. And it’s not just large, headline-catching institutions that are getting attacked. More and more, small businesses are an easy target for cybercriminals.
Consumers aren’t the only people who suffer when their data is stolen. If cybercriminals succeed in lifting data from your network, you’re likely to lose your customers’ confidence. Additionally, you’ll experience damage to your reputation that could prevent people from shopping with you in the future. If your security systems aren’t adequate, you may also face a fine. To prevent all this from happening, you need to use custom security monitoring. By using a service that addresses your business’s unique threats, you’re less likely to face the expensive consequences.
Prevent human error using education
Human error results in a startling number of data breaches. Phishing scams are becoming more elaborate, so it isn’t unusual for employees to fall victim to them. Even the best IT systems in the world can’t guard against human error. Education, however, can.
Educate employees at various stages of their time with you to reduce the risks human error poses to your business. For example, when they join, when something changes with your security systems, and on a yearly basis. Although you can never guarantee that you’ll prevent human error entirely, you can reduce the risk of mistakes happening.
Preventing online fraud requires a multifaceted approach. In addition to introducing protective measures to your business, you should perform a regular audit of threats. With a consistent approach, you can significantly reduce your risk of experiencing online fraud.
With KJ as your partner, we will help you implement these strategies and secure your business – fraud will become the least of your worries with our solutions. Reach out today and learn about what we can do for your business.
