The rapid growth of eCommerce in Southeast Asia is no secret to anymore. With more favorable eCommerce eco-system, Govts encouraging online retail and general population slowing warming up to the concept of online transactions; it is a time of great advancement in the Southeast Asian eCommerce industry.
As a region, Southeast Asia always has minimal credit card and debit card ownership. In general, most transactions were cash-based and ATM money transfer was preferred a mode of payment by many.
However, with more and more businesses setting up shop online, an online transaction is slowly getting popular approval. This, of course, is a reason to make online businesses smile!
But, with the growing rate of online transaction, increases the risk of eCommerce fraud as well. As scary as it may sound to the customers, online fraud is likely to incur a steep financial penalty for the eCommerce business, not to mention the loss of reputation.
Thus, it is essential that online retailers do their best to identify and stop online frauds at all cost!
Here are some strategies you can use to stop online fraud.
Achieve and Adhere to PCI Compliance
The Payment Card Industry’s Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) is a set of standards and measures that help ensure both the online merchant and the customer get maximum protection against fraudulent transactions. For eCommerce businesses accepting online payments, adhering to PCI guidelines is not optional at all. Not sticking to these standards can actually call for hefty fines as well as result in loss of reputation.
Make Sure to Ask for Card Code Verification (CVV) in Your Payment Gateway
Convenience is the ruler in the eCommerce world. Therefore, more often than not, customers opt to save their card information in their shopping profile to facilitate one-click payment. However, in case a profile gets hacked, this information can be misused to make purchases by the fraudsters. CVV is an additional security measure to prevent fraud in card-not-present transactions. Depending on the card provider CVV can go by various names, such as CVV2, CVC2, CID etc. This is a 3 or 4 digit code placed on the back of the card, which does not get stored in the database while making a transaction. By letting the customers store their card details except for the CVV number, you can ensure convenience as well as security for them.
Limit the Number of Purchases
One of the major sign of fraudulent transaction is huge order quantity. Most fraudsters would purchase high-value goods in huge quantity so that they can make financial gains by selling those afterward. Thus, limiting the number of products one can purchase at one go can work as a great deterrent for such criminals. Another benefit of taking this measure is that, even if a fraudulent transaction happens, you can minimize your losses by limiting the order quantity.
IP Tracking
Any huge mismatch in the billing address and the IP address through which a transaction is taking place can be a red flag for online fraud. This is especially true is the billing address and the IP address belong to separate countries. A system should also be put on place to notify the user immediately in case his/her profile is being accessed from a suspicious IP address. By taking these actions, you can easily terminate any fraudulent tractions and ensure data safety for your customer.
Limit the Number of Declined Transactions
One of the most tell-a-tale signs of a fraudulent transaction is repeated declined transactions, where the fraudster is usually guessing the credit card number and looking for a match. While repeated declined transaction may be a red flag for fraud, it also makes you lose money in other ways. Generally, a fee is charged to the merchant each time a transaction fails. By limiting the number of declined transactions, you can effectively cut down on this unnecessary charge, as well as prevent most fraudulent transactions from happening. What you can do here is to automatically lock the user out of the profile once he/she crosses the limit of declined transactions. You can then ask him/her to get in touch with your customer care division to verify identity and place the order over the phone.
Get a Verified Seller Certificate
If you are selling your products on a market place eCommerce site or participate in any shopping search engines, then getting a verified seller certification can boost your customers’ confidence as well as discourage fraudsters from attempting. Priceza, the leading shopping search engine of Southeast Asia offers a feature called “Priceza Verify” to the participating online businesses. This verification badge is awarded after much consideration and upon adhering to a lot of business standards. By maintaining this verified badge, eCommerce stores can create an environment of confidence among customers.
Monitor Unusual Activities
Most businesses have a pretty good idea about their customers. Thus, any unusual activities in any user profile can be indicative towards a fraud attempt. Instances where the email address looks randomly generated, or fake phone number, or address mismatch etc should be monitored closely. In case of doubts about any particular transaction or any user profile, it is advised to investigate thoroughly.
Make Stronger Passwords Essential
Hacking into genuine user profiles and making fake high value transactions is one of the most seen types of online fraud. Asking for stronger passwords (which are difficult to hack) can go a long way in preventing this kind of fraud. Setting a minimum character limit and asking to put special characters, upper case and lower-case letters into the password would make it stronger.