Avoiding the 'Seven Deadly Sins' of Online Fraud

Ori Eisen, Chief Innovation Officer at 41st Parameter, highlights seven 'online sins' which, if addressed, can deter the use of stolen credit cards and reduce identity theft and fraud. By addressing these points, companies transacting online can reduce the threat of fraudulent purchases or unauthorised account access and ensure a safer experience for their legitimate customers.

First: Don’t miss the opportunity to log transactions – sessions should be designed to do more than just execute or take an order
Online forms can be designed so that they provide clues and signals for use during a fraud investigation. Retailers should ensure they issue a unique 'key' for each transaction. This will make it easier to find a specific order/activity involved in a chargeback claim.

Second: Don't ignore the information from browsers and http headers, it can deter or detect fraud
It is fairly straightforward to lift the time zone from a device purchasing a product or claiming a chargeback. This can be compared to where the claim is coming from in order to identify anomalies. Internet tools, such as Google Maps, can easily confirm that shipping addresses match the likely end-consumer.

Third: Don’t transact with automated scripts – have a plan to identify BOTS
Look at session times and orders for clues that it is not a human conducting the transaction. These can include purchases being made at very high speeds or extremely high volumes of orders.

Fourth: Don’t tip your hand – keep your fraud deterrent tactics covert, don't let a fraudster know you are on to them.
Let all transactions flow as if they will be processed and only review the suspicious ones. Also, forcing data entry to comply to a specific format hurts your chances of recognising fraud. Many clues on a repeat offender can be recognised by looking at how they complete applications or forms, such as the use of punctuation in street abbreviations.

Fifth: Don’t ignore the growth in mobile commerce – and the associated risk of fraud
Do not skimp on security layers for a mobile commerce site. Fraud Rings use VMWare to emulate smartphones and gain access to mobile commerce websites. Retailers must create multiple authentication layers on every online portal because fraudsters commonly take the easiest route to the information they need.

Sixth: Don’t give them what they need – mask sensitive data to deter ID theft
For companies that keep images, such as cheques, contracts or invoices online, they must mask the critical account information and personal information. Legal documents and other filings on municipal sites should also mask the personally identifiable information to avoid facilitating ID theft.

And finally the Seventh: Don’t allow forms to include "Rubbish"
Set monitors to look for non-words, such as 'asdf' in the name field and don’t allow forms to auto-accept an entry just based on it having the correct number of characters, such as six digits for the post code of an area.

If you would be interested in speaking with Ori Eisen or would like further information please do let me know, as I'd be more than happy to help. You can email me at krana@iba-interntional.com or call me on 01780 721 433.

I look forward to hearing from you

Kind regards,

Komal

Komal Rana
IBA – PR for 41st Parameter
01780 721 433

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