Businesses are usually victims of fraud activities, and as a business owner, you must learn how to protect your business from fraudsters. Forty-two billion dollars was lost to fraud in the US alone.
Most companies have experienced more than a few thousand credit card frauds.
Often these fraudsters make orders with stolen cards and go unpunished while the businesses concerned are stuck with unpaid bills and extra expenses to bear.
Victims of credit card fraud can attest to how frustrating losing money to fraudsters can be, whether as a business owner or as an individual— it's always sad to lose money. Credit card companies often offer little or no help to businesses that fall victim to credit card-related fraud.
Credit card fraud affects businesses as much as it does affect individuals. However, business credit card fraud not only causes financial loss to the company but can affect the reputation of the business concerned.
This article explains the actionable steps that business owners can adopt to help protect their companies from credit card fraud.
How Does Credit Card Fraud Affect Businesses
As earlier stated, a business's reputation can be compromised due to credit card fraud. Potential customers can withdraw from making purchases with such a business.
Credit card fraud is the fraudulent use of a credit card to make transactions by stealing an owner's credit card or personal details. With the invention of the internet and the unlimited supply of eCommerce sites related to it, credit card thieves have easier access to your details.
In the case of businesses, credit card theft affects them majorly when done in two ways.
Cybercriminals can commit credit card fraud in different ways to affect businesses:
- Using a physical Credit Card
- Using Credit Card details
Physical Card Credit
Physical credit card fraud occurs when a fraudster uses a physical card to make purchases. Security measures like chip readers are put in place to guarantee those transactions.
Credit card fraud can result from a stolen card used to make purchases or place orders.
When a credit card is used illegally to make purchases in a company, the company will not be answerable for such fraudulent purchases if it employs all the required security-related actions.
Credit card fraud can affect a business's credibility and potential and existing customers. Your company can avoid such transactions by observing the necessary security precautions.
Credit card details fraud
Unlike physical credit card fraud, this transaction is executed using credit card details. The card mustn't be present, and security precautions don't cover such transactions.
Most times, businesses dealing in such transactions cannot employ the adequate security precautions needed and are held responsible for transactions made with stolen card details.
In the case of card details theft, the actual owner of the charged card can contact the account issuer and get a reversal resulting in a loss for the business concerned. The company bears losses if the fraudster is not uncovered.
Also, the companies receive penalties from their credit companies for approving fraudulent transactions. This makes the affected business the sole victim of credit card details fraud.
With the rise in card cracking and credit card fraud, most businesses have adopted DataDomes carding prevention methods to curb physical card and card details-related fraud and protect their businesses from such fraudulent acts.
5 Ways to Protect Your Business Against Credit Card Fraud
Here are the five ways you can protect your business against credit card fraud:
Request for detailed Credit card information before approving transactions
Diligently check all the credit card information you receive over the phone or online. Ensure the customer can provide all the required information regarding the credit card. You can ask questions for clarity on any controversial card information— always double-check
Before any transaction is authorized, ensure the Sixteen digit card number, card verification number, and card expiration date.
And other important figures are known by only the actual card owners. Also, ask for a residential address and phone number. If they didn't answer all these questions, it would be evident that they stole the card or card details.
You can proceed to ask further questions when you suspect any transaction or purchase. Feel free to call the card-issuing company or bank for further clarification. A delayed sale is preferred over a loss of both product and money.
Investigate transactions that request immediate delivery
Always stay cautious of immediate deliveries. Every next-day delivery order mustn't be fraudulent, although most credit card fraudsters use this method to quickly get their order before they get suspected or caught.
They often claim to need a large order delivered and shipped quickly. Such orders should raise a red flag. Purposeful delays can be a solid tactic to employ to avoid falling victim to such credit card thieves.
Card thieves are usually not concerned with the price of products or the number of their purchases. Double-check such purchases before authorizing them. Staying safe is preferred to being sorry.
As earlier stated, businesses that conduct online transactions suffer the full consequences of fraudulent purchases. Ensure you validate and cross-check credit card purchases before accepting them.
Educate Your Employees on How to Spot Phishing Texts
Phishing texts are messages sent by scammers masking reputable persons to trick people into revealing sensitive information. They often send such messages with links for the receivers to click on. These links allow them access to data like credit card details. Educate your employees on how to spot such texts.
Some of such texts are questionable and can be easily spotted. However, experienced fraudsters can make their text look professional and appear like it's from a credible source.
Most phishing emails request details or personal information. Such texts can say they are bank representatives and ask for your credit card number. Train your employees and advise customers to never give confidential information.
Take Immediate Actions
Once you confirm a suspicious order or information that doesn't add up, don't let it sly. Take immediate action. It might not be easy to avoid bearing all the losses in the case of fraudulent purchases. Spotting criminals is the best possible option for you as a business.
Report criminals to the authorities and reach out to the credit card corporation or the bank that granted the card in question to alert the card owner.
Not only will you be doing an excellent service to the actual credit card owner, but you will be protecting your business as well.
Take your time to go over all the details and help save your business reputation. You have the right to hang up or deny suspicious transactions.
The sooner you take action, the higher your chance of preventing possible fraudulent transactions.
Employ Fraud Prevention Solutions
Fraud prevention solutions help you protect your users, assets, and data by controlling and preventing fraud before it occurs. There are different AI-powered online fraud protection for mobile apps and websites.
These solutions are committed to providing a web free of fraudulent activities and ensuring that data remains safe while online businesses run their operations smoothly and speedily.
Based on AI and machine learning, the fraud prevention solution protects the most prominent digital commerce businesses as they run their business transactions.
Why Does Fraud Prevention Matters For Enterprise
The modern enterprise landscape presents its unique challenges. New businesses must figure out how they can increase their productivity as they meet their customers' needs. How susceptible they are to cyber criminals as they grow globally. 47% of companies experienced fraud in the past twenty-four months.
As businesses grow digitally, fraud and cyber attacks are taking advantage of their ability to access such businesses, resulting in damages to such companies.
Understanding how fraudulent activities can be detected and prevented is fundamental for your business and customers' experiences.
Wrapping Up 5 Ways To Protect Your Business From Credit Card Fraud
Unless you want to be violently ill for days, get the flu shot now—An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Businesses that have experienced credit card fraud can verify how frustrating it can be. The extra charges and product loss can amount to thousands of dollars and dent the company's name. Imagine losing your company's credibility due to falling victim to fraudulent activities that you can avoid.
Most times, the businesses affected get little to no help from credit card companies. Instead, take full responsibility for such transactions. Protect your business today, and avoid suspicious transactions that can jeopardize your business.
For your business to easily detect and prevent such fraudulent credit card transactions, it has to deliberately stay on alert and active.
Adopt these five steps to prevent credit card fraud for your business discussed earlier and safeguard your business.
