How To Prevent eCommerce Fraud
In this weeks blog, we discuss some of the best ways you can prevent e-commerce fraud when it comes to your business and your customer’s data
Being the victim of fraud is a major concern for any sized business. Dealing with the impact can involve a loss of reputation and confidence from customers alongside the obvious financial ramifications. There are measures that can be taken, however, in order to significantly reduce and prevent e-commerce fraud from occurring.
Look Carefully at your Orders
Simply looking at your customer orders can help to root out any potential fraud. Email addresses that look suspicious are a good sign that there may be a problem, as are delivery or IP addresses that don’t match up to the card registered for payment.
Orders that consist of the same item made several times are worth looking at, especially if there appears to be an element of inconsistency involved, such as different types of the same product being ordered at any time.
Looking at anything that appears out of the ordinary or unusual is the first step to to prevent ecommerce fraud, and keeping a close eye on your businesses accounts and transactions, while it may seem obvious, is vital to keeping on top of your orders.
Use a Verification Process
Using Address Verification Service (AVS), Card Security Code (CSC) and 3D Secure is absolutely essential in protecting any business against eCommerce fraud. Information is passed to the acquirer to help decide whether the transaction is legitimate and should be undertaken, using security codes on the cards. Whilst neither AVS, CSC nor 3D Secure provides full and comprehensive identification of a card-holder, they are simple and incredibly good at dealing with the most usually encountered types of fraud.
Use Restrictions
Having restrictions in place can help detect potential problems before they occur, as well as acting as a deterrent. Imposing limits on how often a transaction can be declined is important, and means that malicious software which tries repeatedly to place orders will not be effective.
Limits can be placed on how many transactions a day can be made, on the maximum amount spent at one time, and on certain types of items that past experience may have found are at high risk. Considering restricting purchases from countries most associated with fraudulent activity may also be an option worth considering.
Use Fraud Protection Software
Many different fraud protection software is available for any business to use, from acquirers, payment service providers, or specialised organisations, all aimed at conducting cross references of past transaction history, IP addresses, and names in order to detect any unusual activity.
Recognising patterns and setting rules as a direct result of these patterns forms a large part of their working methods, and screening of the risk involved with letting a transaction proceed means that any potential risks are located before authorisation occurs. Scans can be made of websites to locate malware or other problems, and regularly updating the protective software being run is necessary.
Confirm and Keep Records
If you ever have any doubts at all about customer records, you can always contact the customer directly to discuss your concerns. A quick phone-call or email can take seconds, and make sure any transaction that may look suspicious is legitimate. Keeping up to date records of any calls or emails is also advisable as a protective measure should any incidents occur in the future that may need to be referred back to.
By working with Card Cutters, we can ensure we provide you with the right fraud protection services as part of your chosen e-commerce package with us.
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