Do you sell or shop online? If the answer is yes then this article is for you.
Organised crime groups are continuing to adapt their methods to exploit both citizens and e-commerce companies. Although, online purchasing is considered secure and new technologies have made it even more so by using Secure Customer Authentication or Two-Factor Authentication, cybercriminals continue to find ways to steal hard-earned income of online shoppers. On the run up to Christmas, this type of activity is continuing to increase.
#SellSafe awareness campaign
Europol, along with the Merchant Risk Council and participating countries, has launched the #SellSafe campaign to highlight the top tactics for fighting online fraud. The participating countries include Albania, Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Georgia, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the United States. To protect consumers, Europol has provided a number of helpful tips to stay one step ahead of the scammers and to make sure that you don’t lose money.
Tips to protect your e-business:
- Ensure all employees are aware of the fraud issues affecting online stores
- Stay up to date on the types of payment fraud affecting businesses and have the tools in place to prevent them. Your national payments organisation will have details on payment fraud types
- Get to know your customers in order to be able to verify their payments
Tips for online shoppers:
- Never send your card number, PIN or any other card information to anyone by e-mail
- Never send money to anyone you don’t know
- Always save all documents related to your online purchases
- If you are not buying anything, don’t submit your card details
Find more tips on how to protect yourself and your business from e-fraudsters.
More general advice on how to shop safely online.
