With the rise of online banking options and shopping sites that encourage the use of checking and credit card information, online transaction security is even more important. As the web grows and diversifies with options for online payments, a number of false sites pose a constant threat to all computer users. Exchanging sensitive information without the appropriate encryption technology or security measures can make a computer user or identity particularly vulnerable. Online transactions take place at record speed, oftentimes faster than a standard credit card transaction or check processing. Transmitting personal data over the Internet does pose various risks, and taking preventative action is a necessary part of ensuring online safety.

Online transactions can be monitored, recorded, and key logged by a variety of hackers and third parties without the knowledge or consent of the user. This information is transmitted across networks and opens up the door to a variety of risks that can fall into the hands of the wrong party. If passwords are stored on a user’s computer, they are especially vulnerable to security breaches. A computer security hole can open up the door to the password files, and hackers can extract and copy this information without the user’s knowledge.

Password files and information need to be protected as much as possible. This may involve frequent changing of the password, and using unidentifiable keyword combinations. Making sure passwords are a combination of numbers, capital and small letters, and special characters can prevent any manipulation simply by guessing the code, and taking the steps to change the password frequently may help with unauthorized access. Not sharing passwords with any other person is another important step; online transactions rely heavily on a user name and password. If just one other person has knowledge of this combination, it may lead to dangerous ramifications in the long-term. Create passwords that are easy to remember but hard for others to guess. Make the password at least 8 characters long. Consider using multi-factor authentication. Many services offer an option to verify your identity if someone logs on to your account from an unrecognized device. The typical method is to send a text or other type of message to a mobile device registered to you with a code you need to type in to verity it’s really you.

To be sure that you are protected you can use IPsec Virtual Private Network, which allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet. VPNs essentially forward all your network traffic to the network, which is where the benefits – like accessing local network resources remotely and bypassing Internet censorship come along. VPNs are a fairly simple tool, but they can be used to do a wide variety of things: access a business or home network while travelling, access geo-blocked websites, downloading confidential files and others. Secure websites and pages will feature two important conditions that indicate they are using encryption technology and a Secure Socket Layer. This is indicated by “https” (letter ”s” after the http portion of the URL), and means that the server is a secure one.

Downloading from trusted sources can help to protect a user’s sensitive information, as this limits the potential risk of viruses, worms, and other dangerous threats that can lead to data mining and data loss. Making sure all websites that involve direct credit card information and checking account information exchange have a padlock symbol or icon will ensure that the site has been assigned the authority to accept secure and protected information. Make sure you also double-check the website certificate prior to entering your payment details. Using software that protects and encrypts sensitive information like user names and passwords, and highlights if a site is secure or not, may dramatically improve your online transaction security. Such software should:

• Remove already known dangerous and suspicious applications.
• Store your passwords in encrypted mode in a secured place.
• Block known phishing web sites and warn about those that are suspicious.
• Stay up to date with latest antivirus and computer updates.
• Not allow the installation of third party software from untrusted sources.

If you want to learn more about online safety check out our list of common scams to look out for.

While countless online services and shops have made socialising, shopping, working, paying and playing so much easier, it’s exactly these things that make everyone that partakes in the aforementioned online activities susceptible to fraud. Crafty cyber criminals come up with new scams every day to cheat merchants and consumers alike out of their hard earned money. Of course you know about phishing, pyramid schemes and the ol’ Nigerian prince with his money laundering scam, but there are more ways in which digital fraudsters use your inbox and gullibility to gain access to your personal information and financial data. This is a list of common and not-so-common scams to look out for. Spoiler alert: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Greeting card scam

With the holiday season coming up, let’s start with greeting card or e-card scams. Festive fraudsters will send you an e-card pretending it’s from a friend or other trustworthy source and then, when you open or download the card, install malicious software, spyware, adware or a virus on your computer. We don’t have to tell you how this is detrimental. It’s very easy to protect yourself against attacks like this: if you receive an e-card from an unknown sender, delete it and if you do decide to gamble and open it, do not open any links or attachments!

Employment search scam

When looking for a job, you probably upload your CV to a legitimate employment web site like Glassdoor for example. Unfortunately, it’s not only potential employers looking at your resume. You will receive a job offer from a foreign company you never heard of and they offer you the position of “financial representative.” They want to hire you because they are having trouble accepting funds in your area and need you to do that for them. You will be promised a commission of 5 – 15% for each transaction. If you apply, part of what they ask of you is to deliver your bank account data in order for you to get paid, but instead of getting paid, you are getting scammed. Scammers can use the data you so willingly (greedily?) supplied them with to steal your money and/or your identity.

Guaranteed bank loan scam

Please allow us to point out that no legitimate financial institution in the world would ever guarantee a bank loan. Credits card maybe, but never a loan. With these types of scams the old adage holds true; if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. You will receive an unexpected email or phone call saying that you have been pre-approved for a bank loan and all you need to do to get the loan is pay the “mandatory” processing fees. One would think that people would see right through this scam, but there are still a large number of people desperate or greedy enough to fall into this trap daily.

Catfishing/romantic scam

Catfishing (the term made popular by MTV’s 2010 documentary and tv-show) is the act of pretending to be somebody else to trick victims into giving you attention, money and/or merchandise. Even though the term is relatively new, the scam itself is very old. Decades before the Internet’s inception, fraudsters were already preying on the weak and lonely by feigning romantic intentions. The victims are led to believe that they have a romantic suitor and willingly pay for all sorts of things, from presents to rent and from iPhones to fitness equipment, just to keep their “suitor” happy and interested. Of course the catfish is only interested in your money, not in your heart.

Blackmail scam

There are many ways in which cyber crooks can employ the blackmail scam. First, they can get access to your computer (by installing spyware through a bogus e-card, for example) and use anything they find to blackmail you. Are you in a naughty chat room, but also happily married? Do you keep secret work documents or other sensitive information on your personal laptop? Boom! You’re a victim. Another way is duping the target into thinking that they are talking to a love interest that then convinces them to undress and act sexy for the webcam. Needless to say, the footage will be used for blackmail and extortion.

Lottery scam

Lucky you! Even though you didn’t enter a lottery of any sort, you have won a prize. And not just any prize, no, a ridiculous sum of money that is dangled in front of you like bait, just waiting for you to collect it. All you have to do is cover the transaction costs/transfer fees/processing charge so that you can collect your winnings. At this point in the list, it should not come as a surprise that you will never receive a payment and that the winner becomes the loser really quickly.

Disaster relief scam

As if natural disasters weren’t bad enough, online scammers found a way to make them even worse. We have all become accustomed to charities and NGOs setting up disaster relief web sites and phone numbers within 24 hours of a disastrous event. Fraudsters do exactly the same thing. They set up phony charitable web sites, email a whole bunch of targets and collect the donations they make. If you want to make a donation, always contact the charity directly to be sure that your money doesn’t end up in the hands of criminals.

Work from home scam

If you have ever logged on to the World Wide Web, you have probably seen an ad stating that you can “make money fast from your own home.” This scam preys on the homebound: the sick and elderly, stay-at-home-moms and low or no income families. You are promised a lucrative career stuffing envelopes, assembling products, being a mystery shopper or a telecommunication, marketing or travel agent. All you have to do is send some money to “get you started” (i.e. get envelopes, a head set, software, etc.) It should come as no surprise by now that all you got started is being scammed. The fraudsters collect your “investment” to never be heard from again, leaving you disillusioned and destitute. Once again, if it sounds too good to be true…

Fake travel agency scam

These types of scams are especially popular around the summer holidays. With everyone looking for cheap tickets and holiday destinations, it’s really easy for tricksters to set up a fake web site for a fake traveling agency. Unsuspecting travelers will book a trip to an exotic location for a ridiculously low rate and underhanded fraudsters collect their down payment, close the web site and abscond as fast as they can. With so many (free) options to create professional looking web sites nowadays, it’s hard for the consumer to differentiate between these fake web sites and the real deal. One way to make sure that you don’t become a victim of this scam is to use your common sense. We are starting to feel like parrots for repeating this, but if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be honest, have you ever heard of a super cheap vacation to a super exclusive destination? That’s because they don’t exist.

Mugged on vacation scam

One day, you will receive a desperate email from a friend. They are currently on vacation, but got robbed, their phones and credit cards stolen, and now need you to transfer some funds to pay the hotel bill and make sure they can get by the last couple of days. Rest assured, your friend didn’t get mugged, they probably didn’t even go on vacation. Criminals gained access to your friend’s computer and sent out this sob-story email to all their contacts to take advantage of your generosity and helpfulness. A surefire way to protect yourself from these types of scams is to double check with your friend. Try to arrange a phone call so that you will have the opportunity to ask your friend a few questions that only they would know. Or better yet, arrange a Skype video call. Needless to say, when in doubt, don’t transfer any money at all.

We hope that this list has made you a little more prepared for the dangers out there and gave you some ideas on how to protect yourself from sordid scammers.

The ease of creating an online environment and running a web shop right from the comfort of one’s own home or garage has resulted in each Tom, Dick, Harry and Paula thinking that they can become the next Amazon, AliBaba or Zalando. Even though it seems easy enough, to become really successful, it takes a lot of hard work and sound strategy. As a payment service provider, we encounter hundreds of web shops in every corner of the world (wide web), some of which highly successful, some not so much. We have asked around and would like to present you with a list of useful tips that will hopefully help you to become the next online tycoon.

Looks matter

A flashy, professional web site may seem like the obvious choice, but if you sell organic dog food, a sleek site in grays and blues will just look weird. It also works the other way around: when you sell concrete slabs, a colorful, interactive web shop will make you look silly. It’s paramount that your online environment reflects you and your business. If you have lots of text, choose a font and colours that are easy on the eyes (so no Comic Sans, mmkay?). When dealing with mostly pictures, make them the highest quality they can possibly be, this is your showcase. Also, think about layout and functionality. What would you like shoppers to see first? How should everything work? And how should your web shop make them feel?

Put the ‘you’ in unique

For those lucky few that come up with a completely new service or product, it’s easy. They’re unique because nobody else does what they do and that is their USP. But if you sell clothes for instance or own a restaurant, how do you do that differently from your competition? Do you only use fair-trade products or do you operate from a paperless office? Make it known! Do you have Annie Liebowitz shooting your pictures or Salman Rushdie creating your copy? Shout if from the rooftops! Are the sweaters you sell 100% mermaid hair? That should be on the homepage! Even though everyone is unique, your product or service probably isn’t. The trick is to find and highlight that one thing that does make you stand out from your competition and showcase it in any way you can.

KYC, the other white meat

Know Your Customer. Seems simple enough, but is actually quite hard. What kind of person do you envision your customer to be? Are they male or female? Educated? Wealthy? Lazy? Handicapped? Sports fanatics? How does your merchandise or service improve the life of your customer? These are all things that you should have figured out before you open shop. After you start processing orders, you can employ a CRM-system of your choice to keep tabs on who your customers actually are and then adjust your strategy to cater to them. Do you see an increase in activity in a certain area; offer them a promotion. Are your customers more active during the night, then update your web site at night too to ensure that your customers are around to see it.

Shopping for carts

Choosing the right shopping cart software can make or break your shop. If your merchandise needs mainly visual displaying, choose a shopping cart that allows for that kind of interface. Want to offer your services worldwide? Make sure your shopping cart software is suitable for that. For smaller, starting merchants, we advise taking a shopping cart that is recommended/endorsed by your web host. With their extensive experience, they will be able to provide you with exactly what you need, fully integrated and ready to go. Larger, experienced web shop owners may benefit more from purchasing a loose plug-in, since there are more options for customisation to make it fit seamlessly into a web shop’s back-end.

Proper payment system

Having a proper payment system is equally important as having a suitable shopping cart. Choosing the right payment service provider is key to setting up a payment system that will fit your needs perfectly. First, think about how you would like customers to pay for your merchandise and services. Should they be able to pay via credit card? Would you like people to be able to order on the go with their smartphones? Will you cater to areas outside of your own country? Do you know which alternative payment methods they use there? A good payment service provider will be able to answer all your questions and advise you on which payment methods to offer. We recommend using a payment service provider from your own country that can advise you in your own language, in your own time zone.

Promotion is paramount

Promote your web site as much as you can, simple as that. Send out press releases to local media and/or influencers. Hire a freelancer if you don’t know how. Advertise on social media, for as little as $5 you can get a Facebook campaign going, and if you have awesome visual content share it on Instagram. Get intimately acquainted with Twitter and if you have interesting stories to tell, start a blog or snap away on Snapchat. If you don’t have enough time to do everything, pick one medium and do that really well. Ask your friends and family to like and share your web shop as much as humanly possible, make them shout from the digital rooftops. And if your budget allows it, also advertise offline, on TV or in the local newspaper. Anything to get the word out.

Dare to customer care

Especially when you sell a product or service that is not so one of a kind, make sure that your service is the distinguishing factor. Treat your clients like you would want to be treated and you’re halfway there. Being an open book instills confidence in your patrons. Be available for questions and take complaints seriously. Honour your promises and be clear when you are out of stock. It should be easy for customers to return their purchases and refunds should be given (within reason, of course) without making a fuss. Excellent service is a paramount to ensure great word to mouth advertising and customers returning to your shop. Also, offer a super safe payment experience, like Fort Know safe. Ask your payment service provider about their security options and PCI compliance.

Conversion is key

It’s tempting to make decisions based on your gut and past experiences, but if you really want your shop to soar, you will have to employ metrics; cold, hard data. Your store’s conversion rate directly measures the profitability and consequently is the measuring stick of your success. You can use metrics to predict future successes or to determine if everything is working like it should be. A good mnemonic is “when conversion is down, something is up.” Your customers’ behaviour on your site is a great bellwether. The funny thing is that what is most valuable to your company comes (almost) free. Keeping tabs on your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly conversion and making little tweaks accordingly will do wonders for creating an awesome customer experience and will keep your them coming back for more.

The customer journey

Creating an exceptional customer journey is not as hard as it looks; all you have to do is pay attention. In the eyes of the consumer, you are only as good as the last time they were in contact with you, so evaluate each and every contact point between your customer and your company. This is where you build customer loyalty by actively ensuring that your customer has a great experience each time and possibly even shares that positive experience with their friends. Take special care of the checkout process; consumers nowadays are notorious for their short attention span. A good rule of thumb is to make the path from product to payment as short and easy as possible. Also, take a peek at how your competitors are doing, maybe there is something that you can do better of different to make you stand out even more.

Terrific traffic

What is a web shop without visitors? Key is getting potential customers to your shop and it all starts with search words. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is crucial for generating traffic to your site. Determine which words your customers would use when looking for your product or service and use them as much as you can in your web site’s copy. Don’t forget to also include them in the meta title and meta description. This is after all the text that search engines display and lets viewers know what your page is about. Please note that each separate page should have its own unique title and description. Finally, optimise your images, videos and URLs (short URLs that include the most important search words), create a Google AdWords campaign and you are good to go.

As a part of the Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), the European Banking Authority (EBA) has proposed to reduce risk and mitigate fraud in the payment industry by implementing passwords to authenticate payments upward from EUR 10.

One of the repercussions is that payments in apps like Uber or web shops where consumers register their card are no longer automatic, but require a password to be entered for every transaction over EUR 10. For the consumer this means extra steps in the payment process, which we know might discourage them from finalising the purchase or order, even though this extra step adds extra security to the process. Additionally, purchases outside the EU might be blocked because foreign web sites might not adhere to the new European standards. This will not only frustrate the consumer, but also foreign merchants counting on European business.

In the beginning of 2017 the EBA will adopt the final proposal. Of course we can’t look into the future, but we are prepared for it. Our collaboration with identification and payment authentication service iSignthis provides our merchants with the highest level of online payment security and Know Your Customer compliance. Please reach out to your eMerchantPay representative to ask about how we can help prepare your business.

Risk and fraud are a part of a merchant’s life as much as profits and customers. But how does one deal with credit card fraud, stolen identities and securing sensitive data? Our white paper ‘Risk and fraud management challenges within the payment industry’ discusses these topics in-depth. This infographic highlights the white paper’s most important findings.

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