You Are Being Watched - Beware Of Online Fraud

It will not be wrong to say; net is a place of chaos and crime in many ways . Online fraud refers to the fraud schemes using one or more online services to conduct fraudulent transactions. Last year, over 200,000 online fraud cases were reported, costing losses to almost $600 million. We have to cope up with the reality of web world and prevent this online fraud. Different services of chat-rooms, e-mail, message boards and websites are being used to conduct online-fraud. Different types of Online Fraud Online fraud can be committed in several ways and the fraudsters prefer commodities which are easily sold and have a wider appeal. Some other ways of online fraud include: Stolen Credit Cards The most popular online fraud is done through the stolen credit card information. There have been many cases, where the hackers obtain great amount of credit card information from companies data bases. In many companies the employees have been selling credit card information to criminals, thinking them to be a customer. Get Wire Transfer Info Some fraudsters ask the merchants for large quotes and when it comes to payment they ask for their wire transfer payment information to send the payments and then they send fake checks through online check issuing system. E-mail Fraud Online Almost as fast as e-mail is being frequently used, a defrauding person via e-mail is also becoming popular. Many people have lost their life savings through this evil online fraud. Spoofing, Bogus offers and Request for help kind of mails are some types of e-mail fraud. Fake Online Auctions People are easily being trapped in these fake online auctions and lost great amount of money thinking they are safely shopping online. Reasons Why We Need Online Fraud Protection It is vital to have protection against online fraud for the success of your company as: * The amount used by the fraudulent through the credit card can be more than the security prevention services * Not only we are saved from the charge backs, but our customer is also satisfied that his/her information is secured * Our company s time, effort and profits will be saved and our customer can also shop safely Different Tools to Avoid Online Fraud * Use e-mail filter software for detecting spam and doubtful e-mails * Use anti virus software as viruses can pass information * Use anti-spyware and Adware programs, especially when downloading * Keep your computer update * Install a firewall to keep an eye on outgoing and incoming traffic By the end we can say that still there is no 100% protection from online fraud but using these tools and precautions we can minimize this risk and ensure fraud protection. Online Fraud Prevention and Internet Security for Merchant Accounts