As an e-commerce business or, indeed, any business, there is a massive risk of fraud in any area you operate in and any business activities you undertake. However, in e-commerce, the risk of fraud is more significant due to the global nature of the internet and how easy it is for criminals to carry out their crimes and exploit vulnerabilities.
Protecting your business staff and comers is paramount, as is reducing the risks you open yourself up to and omitting instances of fraud so you can avoid the significant pitfalls of falling for this innocuous crime.
Empower your e-commerce business by implementing fraud prevention measures. Let’s explore a few ways you can take control and reduce fraud risks.
Secure Payment Gateways or Software
Using a payment gateway can offer you increased protection against fraud. They have fraud detection and prevention tools included typically as standard, meaning you can rely on them to use their resources to help you avoid falling victim to this type of crime. If you are considering taking payments in-house and using an online credit card payment processing software, you need to check their security credentials and what they offer and then fill in any gaps that might expose you so you have the best protections in place regardless of how people pay.
Strong Authentication
Requiring customers to use strong authentication processes and implementing them through your site might seem like overkill and not be preferable for the customer, but it can offer them additional protection to avoid fraud and scams and ensure that everyone is safe at all times. If your defenses have been breached or if someone is fraudulently using another person’s details to make orders, then having stronger passwords, MFA in place, and sending one-time passcodes can protect all parties.
Fraud Detection Rules
By setting up fraud protection rules in your site and payment systems, you can flag shopping behaviors based on previous activity or identify high-risk areas where payments originate. You can set different rules and filters to block or flag suspicious activity. You can identify mismatched information being entered against shipping and payment details and addresses; you can stop transactions exceeding certain thresholds and require a contract with the customer to verify the transaction. This can give both you and your customers peace of mind that you’re doing what you can to stop or limit fraud.
Train Employees
Remember, your employees can be your first line of defense against fraud. By training them to identify and stop fraudulent activity, you’re empowering them to protect your business. The more they know about fraudulent activities, the easier it will be to spot and stop them, giving you and your customers peace of mind.
Update Software
Software updates are essential for increased safety. Updates identify and resolve vulnerabilities and criminals will exploit these if you’re not updating quickly. These are your website updates, app updates, plugins, etc. Update as soon as they come through for added protection and to stop anyone from breaching your defenses and committing any type of fraud.
