Did you know that as a result of the pandemic, the (US) dollar amount of attempted fraudulent transactions rose by 35% last year?
Both as a result of COVID-19 and the advancement of the e-commerce sector, today, many of us shop online. The same is true for businesses. Whether you’re paying for subscriptions or for equipment, we procure almost everything we need on the internet.
This, while convenient, has increased exploitative opportunities for cybercriminals. Today, becoming a victim of fraud is far more common than many imagine. While a shift to mobile-based payments and tap purchases has reduced fraud to some extent, it is still a major challenge.
Especially at an enterprise level, preventing credit card fraud can protect your finances and reputation. But what does this look like in 2021? At a time when the security landscape is at a precarious tipping point, how can you keep your financial information secure?
Here’s a quick look at a few things you can do.
Card-not-present (CNP) payments are those where credit card information is submitted to an online payment portal. This is in contrast to when it’s presented to a card reader and scanned. CNP fraud, therefore, is when cybercriminals use your credit card information to make CNP payments.
The number one way to avoid this is to crack down on malware and phishing. Both are major threats to information security, even today.
By installing the right anti-malware safeguards and training employees to detect phishing attempts, you may be able to prevent low-level attempts of CNP fraud. As it happens, this is the biggest contributor to credit card fraud today. It accounts for 85% of fraud on Australian cards.
There are other aspects of credit card fraud beyond the theft of your credit card details. If you manage a store, for example, people can use stolen or bogus cards to pay for your products. This is why you need to train your teams to take action against suspicious transactions.
These could look like:
These are just a few examples. There may be many more tell-tale signs of credit card fraud. While it may be hard to stem the flow of threats entirely, you can train your teams to be more vigilant.
Give them the autonomy to make certain decisions on the go. Refusing to process suspicious payments is one of these. It is a necessary step in our fight against credit card fraud in Australia.
An important part of your strategy against credit card fraud needs to be reviewing your credit card statements. While many businesses may neglect to do this, it is a very useful way of identifying if something is amiss.
If you detect certain anomalies, you can address them before it evolves into a more serious problem. This shouldn’t just be the case for your credit card statements. Make it a point to go through all your bank statements as well.
You’ll be able to understand if there’s a more wide-scale threat affecting your information security.
If you go through many of the posts on our blog, you’ll realise that security awareness training tends to be a popular recommendation. People are, ultimately, a barrier between security threats and your data.
When they’re trained and know how to handle these threats, it’s much harder for credit card fraud to unfold.
One step is to keep them updated about the latest threats in the industry. Make it a point to show them how these threats affect your customers and your business. Help them understand industry regulations on credit card fraud and compliance requirements.
Despite being a long-term process, it is one of the most powerful defences against most security risks.
At Triskele Labs, we help businesses meet modern security needs. From attack simulation all the way to security training, we specialise in custom security solutions.
Our goal is to help you stay ahead of the latest threats with the latest tools. Get in touch to find out how you can avert the rise of credit card fraud today.