Internet Security for your online customers
by Chris Cooper
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Internet security experts are predicting a surge in online fraud over the next year as record numbers of shoppers are expected to turn to the internet in search of bargains.
The sheer volume of online spending has prompted criminal gangs to venture on to the internet in search of rich pickings from shoppers who fail to take the necessary security precautions with their card purchases. Online card fraud has also been boosted by the success of chip and PIN in curtailing criminals' ability to commit fraud at the point of sale, unless a victim's PIN has been unwittingly disclosed.
The Association for Payment Clearing Services said this month that online
banking fraud rose by 260 per cent to £14.5 million in the first half
of this year. Banks blame phish-ing attacks using fraudulent e-mails to trick
consumers into revealing bank account details for this exponential growth.
Phishing gangs are becoming more creative in the ruses they use to trick
people into revealing personal information and they will prey on the naivety
of those shopping online for the first time. Nilay Patef, director
of engineering at Mail Frontier, the internet security company, says: "Fraudsters
are taking advantage of online shopping websites to steal personal information.
We have found e-mails that purport to be receipts for online purchases.
Potential victims are told to click on the link and enter their card details
if they want to cancel the supposed transaction, which of course they did
not make."
Mr Patel also gives warning of the risks of e-mail greeting cards. "These
could look pretty on your screen, but behind the flickering lights could
be spy ware installing itself on your PC, which can filter all your internet
password and card details to fraudsters," he says.
In some cases, victims open the attachment in an e-mail greeting card that
has been sent by a friend, failing to realise that the message was forwarded
to that friend from a criminal and is impregnated with spyware.
Online fraud now accounts for more than half the overall losses to card-not-present
fraud, which rose to £90.6 million in the first half of this year,
up 29 per cent on the previous year.
Checkmyfile.com, a credit information service, says that identity fraudsters
will step up their attempts to make fraudulent credit card applications in
the final weeks of December.
Barry Stamp, joint managing director of Checkmyfile.com, says: "Credit
card companies raise their credit scoring systems over this period to put
an additional defence in place. Applications made by people with Yahoo! and
Hotmail e-mail addresses are viewed with particular scrutiny because these
addresses are almost untraceable [if false information was given when the
account was opened] and are often used by fraudsters."
Safety tips:
• Make sure that your PC has a firewall and antivirus software installed
and keep the programmes updated.
• If you bank online, change your password regularly and never use the
same password for non-banking websites.
• Always type in your bank's website address manually. Never visit your
bank's website via a link in an e-mail.