Hannah Torral, Negosentro | Today, it is possible for businesses to sell their products to customers in any part of the world, thanks to advances in technology. Since the advent of the internet, customers can place their orders online and make payments through their credit cards. This has presented businesses with numerous opportunities, and it has ensured that customers enjoy the convenience of making purchases from the comfort of their homes. However, e-commerce is not without its challenges. Hackers are constantly coming up with new ways of accessing sensitive information in order to facilitate credit card fraud. This is why your business must put in place measures that will protect both you and your customers from becoming victims of identity theft.
Use cards with fraud protection
Both you and your customers will choose your credit cards based on a number of factors. It is important to look at what the credit cards offer in terms of security features. Using credit cards with fraud protection will go a long way in ensuring that you are protected from fraud. When thinking about this, you should consider cards that offer these services but don’t charge additional fees. With such protection, you will not be held responsible when unauthorized purchases are made on your account.
Monitoring
Monitoring both your credit score and records of your financial transactions will help to identify and prevent unauthorized activities on your account. As a business owner, you should encourage your customers to check their statements monthly and get a credit report every year. In case of any changes in their credit score or suspicious transactions, your customers should report to the relevant authorities for detailed investigations.
Take advantage of fraud alert programs
Since it does not take long for hackers to conduct credit card fraud, you will need to find measures of preventing it before it happens. Signing up for alert programs will see you receiving alerts through text, phone or email whenever someone tries to use your personal information or there is suspicious activity on your account. Most credit card companies provide these services free of charge, giving you enough time to take proper measures to protect yourself as well as your customers.
Maintain PCI compliance
There are standards in the Payment Card Industry that require any company that accepts credit card payments from its customers to ensure that sensitive data is protected. This makes it hard for hackers to gain access to this data and use it to perpetrate fraud. If you want to ensure that both you and your customers are protected from becoming victims of identity theft, you should consider requesting professional PCI compliance services. The services will ensure that your systems are secure and provide for regular testing of security systems.
Protect your personal information
Part of protecting yourself and your customers from credit card fraud will involve safeguarding your personal information. Install the proper security measures to make sure that all PINs used in financial transactions are kept secure from theft. Keep your credit card information stored safely, and do not give out your credit card number. In case your credit card gets lost or stolen, you should contact the card issuer and request them to cancel it.
Online precautions
As a business, there are a number of online precautions that you can take to ensure that you protect yourself and your customers. You should enhance the security of your website by using a password manager as well as two-step authentication. The software will not only generate unique and strong passwords but will also store them under encryption to allow your staff access when you need them.
This list is by no means comprehensive. Since fraudsters will always develop new ways of trying to access data without authorization, you will have to be vigilant. This will require that you use end-to-end encryption and have a solid plan in the event that fraud happens. Working with IT experts will make it easy for you to identify the best security measures.
