By default, the average person always thinks that bad things only happen to other people. It is the reason why they are ill-equipped when tragedy strikes. Individuals have this mindset in case of natural disasters, road accidents, financial problems, and online fraud.
While there are fraud detection tools available in the market today, individuals and companies often ignore them based on trust. They place a lot of faith that the vendors and suppliers will protect their confidential data.
And for the most part, companies and eCommerce stores have security mechanisms in place to prevent breaches in data. However, their current systems may not be enough to ward off an attack. Sooner or later, something will slip in.
According to the survey commissioned by TSYS, a payment processor service, 8 in 10 consumers use either a debit or credit card to pay for services or goods. Only 14 percent claimed that they use cash. Meanwhile, around 200 Americans now can pay using plastic money, and the number is rising.
With the Christmas shopping rush, you must protect yourself from online fraud. Here are some of the quick tips you can follow:
- HTTP and HTTPS. It is the basic security system, especially for eCommerce stores. You need to check the URL address and see if it starts with an HTTP or HTTPS. When you enter your information on the website, such as credit card details, the data will be encrypted to protect them from hackers.
- Double-check the website. Google is your friend. A simple background check will give you plenty of information regarding the eCommerce website. Unfortunately, some phishing sites also use HTTPS to trick visitors into thinking that they are secure.
Check the grammar. Forget about being accused as a grammar Nazi. Be wary of letters, invitations, and even the URL addresses with spelling mistakes. Most hackers will mimic the address of a government agency, for instance, with a few modifications. For example, the revenue office will become http://www.irs-gov.com instead of https://www.irs.gov.
- Don’t trust random ads and apps. Random ads and apps can turn up on your email, social media, and websites you visit. Never click on them because they can unleash malware that will steal your vital data. If a message pops up, for instance, warning that a virus has infected your system, do not ever click on the box.
- Use your credit card. It might seem like a bad idea to use your credit card and place yourself at risk. However, credit card companies have security mechanisms that will protect your confidential information. Also, there is a possibility you can get your money back if you can prove that you are a victim of fraud. You do not enjoy such protection if you send money via MoneyGram or Western Union.
Of course, nobody can expect a perfect fraud detection system. Even blue-chip companies, with billions in assets, could not adequately protect their networks from hackers.
Manufacturers are now making use of machine learning to improve their data protection tools. Algorithms help spot fraudulent transactions with fantastic accuracy (something like 99%). However, one glitch exhibited by the machines is they also mistakenly flagged thousands of legitimate transactions.