Credit Card Fraud – Ways Businesses Can Avoid Them

The Commerce Department has released figures that indicate increased retail sales (1.1%) in the month of February 2013 totaling $421.4 billion. This has been the highest rise since the month of September 2012. This directly means that there has been an increase in credit card transactions and an increased risk of credit card frauds and unfair practices.

Recent reports have found that credit card frauds have increased by as much as 87% since the year 2010 and account for a loss of $6 billion.

To get over this difficult-to-remove problem, it is important for organizations to take a few steps that would help to prevent losses for them in the already bad economic scenario that they are currently facing. To keep your organisation safe, it would be a good idea to read the below tips as well as work with the experts of the team of www.essayjedi.com

Step #1: Take Immediate Action

A security breach can occur even if the best payment processing methods are made use of. In the event of such a breach, ensure that detailed credit card sales reports are available at once to be able to track down the point of fraud. This will eventually cause to terminate the breach and avoid further losses that can occur. An appropriate and timely assessment made of the attack in the initial stages may be of great help to trace the original source of the breach. If you have an old payment processing system then you will need to upgrade it to help with that essential protection further as an old one will have weaker defenses. Looking into software such as https://merchantalternatives.com/reviews/payline-data/ can help with seeing what is available and utilizing the resources out there that can be a huge support.

Step #2: Be PCI Compliant

It is important for the organization to be Payment Card Industry compliant while accepting credit or debit card payments. The software security must be up to date and PA-DSS certified. This certification reinforces the fact that best practices have been observed for securing credit/debit card payment details. The responsibility to protect customers’ details is paramount. It is also important to have a PCI-audit that will ensure that the payment environment is well secured along with other applications of the back office. Such a practice can help the organization secure any loophole that may be sensed by fraudsters.

Step #3: Use Data Encryption End-to-End

End-to-end encryption (E2EE) of data starts from the device that captures the data and up to where the transaction is authorized. The implementation of E2EE technology ensures that the account data is not stolen electronically and makes it easy for the business to become PCI certified. The encryption functionality should be built into the software, devices, credit card terminals, software applications, and payment capture devices for effectiveness. Ensure that your partners including the payments provider are technically compliant. It is important to balance costs and service. Low-cost providers may sometimes not provide the level of service that the organization demands.

Step #4: Use Network Tokenization

Network tokenization provides businesses with an extra layer of security as the customer payment data is replaced with a token. This token is then securely stored in a payment vault, and is used for future transactions. This ensures that the customer’s payment data is never exposed during the payment process, making it difficult for hackers to gain access to any sensitive information. Additionally, network tokenization provides businesses with a cost-effective and secure payment processing solution. In most cases, the benefits of tokenization often outweigh that of encryption, however, businesses should invest in one depending on the level of security they wish to have.

Step #5: Do Not Store Credit Card Numbers on Business Server

Storing credit card numbers on your business server poses a significant risk. It’s a safer practice to partner with a payment provider that doesn’t store credit card details within your organization’s servers or software. The best service providers typically store customer credit card information in a secure cloud environment. These reputable providers often come equipped with features such as hybrid cloud security, fraud detection systems, and robust encryption protocols. These measures collectively work to safeguard customer data and minimize the chances of data breaches.

Step #6: Use Tamper-Proof Systems

All employees of the organization should be familiar with the payment processing systems and their work. Fraudsters are known to tamper with the payment processing equipment to steal credit card information. They alter equipment by attaching a small piece of hardware to the credit card terminal. Employees who are familiar with the looks of the equipment would be able to identify any odd-looking attachment as well malfunctioning software.

As a final note, it is essential to take precautions to protect the company’s and clients’ security and not provide any opportunity to the fraudsters to steal information from the organization.