Online payment fraud happens when
vital information such as passwords, PIN numbers, credit card and bank account
numbers, and other personal details get stolen from you. The damage inflicted by
online scammers and hackers to consumers and business establishments that
engage in online transactions is immeasurable in terms of the actual amount of
money lost, collateral costs such as manpower for investigations and security
enhancements, as well as the cost of litigation if the cyber criminals are
prosecuted.
Despite the continuing efforts of business
institutions and criminal and regulatory agencies, perpetrators of online
payment fraud continue to victimize people from all social strata. When you
look at the equation that involves this type of cyber crime, the three major
players are business institutions like banks and ecommerce operations, the
cyber criminals, and the client whose identity has been used. At the outset and until the conclusion of the online payment fraud, the identity theft victim tends
to be unaware of the fraudulent transaction.
Financial institutions and business
establishments employ strict security measures in their online transactions to
prevent online payment fraud. However, once the credentials of the target
victim have been acquired by cyber criminals, the crime is often undeterred and
undetected until the victim receives a financial statement or checks his bank
account and discovers what has happened.
Steps to Avoid Online Payment Fraud
The first step in the prevention of
online payment fraud that involves identity theft lies with the victims whose
online security precautions have been breached. The tools used by scammers and
hackers to get access to your computer and personal information range from
social engineering tactics to password hacking and the use of spyware, trojans,
orcomputer viruses to obtain remote access to your files. Thus, improving the
security of your computer is the first step towards the prevention frombecoming
a victim of online payment fraud.
Installing reliable antivirus
software is the first step in securing your computer system for safe online
transactions. The software automatically sends an alert message when you access
unsafe or unsecured sites, and blocks you from going to identified phishing
websites. Running regular scans for trojans, viruses, and other malware will automatically remove
the items that can be used by hackers as launching sites for remote access.
Updating your operating system with
the latest software updates and security patches strengthens your defense
against hackers. Updates and patches are essential, since many of these relate
to bugs or flaws in the programs that have been identified as high security
risks. The same is true for browsers and other related apps that you have
installed and use regularly in online activities. For your convenience, the operating
system and apps have auto-update features that you should activate to get the
updates and patches regularly.
The tools you use to enhance the
security of your computer system are not one hundred percent foolproof against
hacking and phishing attacks. However, if you have installed reliable security
systems and at the same time practice safe Internet browsing, the possibility
of falling victim to online payment fraud is significantly
reduced.
