In Brief: The holiday season brings with it an increased amount of fraudulent activity, which can pose significant risks to businesses. Protecting your business doesn’t have to be complex and expensive though. There are easy steps you can take to deter fraudulent activity. By adopting these strategies, businesses can protect themselves and their customers from fraud during the holiday rush.
The holiday season is upon us, which means increased sales and customer traffic. Unfortunately, it also means an increase in fraudsters trying to steal credit card information and ruin the festive cheer. But to help you better protect your business, here are some of the latest fraud trends the industry is seeing and four simple tips you can take.
Fraud Trend #1: Enumeration Attacks
Enumeration attacks (or card testing) occur when bots test massive volumes of stolen credit card numbers on your payment gateway or website to identify valid cards. The fraudsters aim to validate their stolen card data, but your business will experience negative repercussions and associated costs, as well.
Prevention: Use Google’s reCAPTCHA or similar anti-bot technology to block these automated attacks. There are ways around it, but it’s a good speed bump that is free and can chase fraudsters elsewhere.
Fraud Trend #2: Social Engineering
Fraudsters use clever tactics to trick your employees into giving up sensitive information.
Prevention: Remind your employees to never share passwords or sensitive customer data over the phone or email, no matter how convincing the request seems.
Fraud Trend #3: Gateway/Virtual Terminal Takeovers
Weak login credentials make it easy for fraudsters to access your payment gateway or virtual terminal. They may use this access to transact credits on their own cards or test stolen card information.
Prevention: Use strong, unique passwords and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for an extra layer of security. It’s like having a double lock on your front door. Without MFA, it’s only a matter of time before credentials are compromised with today’s fraud tools.
Bonus Tip: Double check to ensure your payment processing software is up to date with the latest security patches. As vulnerabilities are identified, software developers fix them in the software, but they can only help if you install them.
This is especially important for e-commerce websites. The industry is seeing an unprecedented level of cyberattacks against e-commerce shopping carts, related analytic software, and other site related tools. Any of these can compromise your website and allow attackers to steal your customers’ credit card data.
This time of year can be a joyous season for businesses, but with heightened sales activity comes increased fraud risks. By understanding the latest fraud trends and implementing the above mentioned tips, you can more effectively protect your business and your customers. A secure, well-prepared approach ensures not only peace of mind but also a prosperous and joyous holiday season for all.
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