Best Ways to Prevent Fraud On Your Ecommerce Store

The dramatic growth of online shopping has not only created opportunities for people to grow their businesses, but has also led to a surge in ecommerce fraud. From fake refunds and chargebacks to identity theft and account takeover, unscrupulous consumers and cybercriminals use different methods to steal from you and your customers. Falling victim to fraud can lead to huge financial losses, loss of customers, and even damage your company’s reputation.

You need to have the right measures in place to protect your online store from the various types of eCommerce frauds. That means being able to recognize fraudulent activities early enough and taking the right steps to prevent and reduce your risk. Fortunately, there are many tools that you can use to detect and prevent fraud on your ecommerce site. For instance, the latest credit card scanner provides improved security when making card payments on devices. Here are a few other measures you can take to prevent fraud in your ecommerce store.

1. Use Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS).

One of the best ways to protect your store from cybercriminals and hackers is using an HTTPS connection. This protocol is used to transfer encrypted data between your customer’s browser and your online store over a secure connection. The data is sent in an encrypted format to protect your customer’s sensitive information such as their card number, email address, names, and CVV when making payments on your site. Using HTTPS helps prevent third parties from viewing your transactions and data, protecting your business and customers from fraudsters.

2. Ensure your Online Store is PCI Compliant

Apart from using HTTPS, you can prevent fraud on your online store by ensuring it’s PCI compliant. That implies making sure your online store follows and meets the rules set by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. These standards ensure your customer’s data security and safety when making payments on your store using credit cards. If you run an online store or a SaaS-based ecommerce, you must ensure you’re PCI-compliant. You can find details on how to stay compliant and information on compliance changes from The Security Standards Council website.

3. Ask Card Verification Value (CVV) numbers for Purchases

Another effective way to protect your business and reduce your fraud risk is by asking for the Card Verification Value or Card Security Code for all purchases. The Card Verification Value (CVV) is a three-digit security code printed at the back of some credit and debit cards such as Discover, MasterCard, and Visa. Some cards, such as American Express, CVV are printed as a four-digit security code.

Requiring all customers to provide the Card Verification Value (CVV) numbers for every payment ensures they have the physical credit card in hand. This makes it difficult for scammers to defraud you using stolen credit card information.

4. Avoid Collecting Unnecessary Sensitive Customer Data

Collecting as little customer data as possible can help protect your store and your customers in the event of a cyberattack or a data breach. This way, hackers won’t have access to the information needed to carry out fraudulent transactions. Be sure to collect only the information you need to bill your customers for their purchase and shipping service. Avoid harvesting unnecessary sensitive customer information like birth dates and Social Security numbers.

It’s also important to maintain a detailed record of all your order billings, shipment, and receipt since that’s what you’ll use to fight chargebacks should fraud occur. Be sure to issue clear billing descriptors and require all shoppers to sign for packages upon receipt.

Endnote

With ecommerce fraud on the rise, you need to implement the best practices and leverage different types of fraud-prevention tools to prevent and reduce your fraud risk. This way, you can protect your business and your customers from the various types of fraud and increase your bottom line.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes