Tung

Many people become victims of online fraud everyday. If you've been the victim of online fraud before, then you know just how downright dirty it can really get. Not only can your identity be stolen, but also your credit and your hard earned money. The main key to preventing online fraud is just use common sense and care.

You can prevent online fraud by collecting as much info as you can. While more information on your clients is generally better, there is such a thing, as collecting too much info. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to go around getting your customers' social security numbers, as this would probably scare away many potential clients. A super secure shopping cart is a must-have for every reputable online business. Secure software will help keep your customers' data secure as possible.

It's also important to review the orders as they are processed. Whenever your online business receives a new order, take a little time out to review the details and information of the order carefully. Make sure all the information matches up correctly, and be on the look out for details that just don't seem right. This is where the common sense comes in, most cases of online fraud can simply be prevented with this step described.

To make this step even easier, take advantage of address verification services. These are provided by many merchants, and you are strongly encouraged to use them. You can use an AVS service on all transactions that come through. The AVS service will make sure that the info you are provided matches the info on file with the card issuing bank. If the information is different, then the AVS service will make sure that you are warned.

Be wary of free email addresses on any orders that come in. Most online scammers are smart enough to use free email addresses when scamming online. This gives them extra padding from getting caught, so take precaution with these free email addresses. It may be a smart move to require email addresses from their ISP and ban any kind of free email addresses from being used. This will scare away potential fraudsters, as ISP emails are easily traceable.

You might also want to collect phone numbers for incoming orders as well. Many people are used to giving out their phone numbers, as department stores habitually ask customers for their numbers, too. With a phone number, you can do several different things. First, you can find out where they are with the area code. Potential fraudsters would not want to give out a phone number of any kind because of this. With a phone number you can also take advantage of reverse phone lookup. A reverse phone lookup is also effective for figuring out if your client is a minor or older.

Always take special caution on any order that looks to be above the average order. This could be a scammer being a little greedy, and biting off more than he can chew. On orders that you notice are more than the average, pay special attention to them. Also be on the look out for orders that are overnight. Because the fraudster isn't paying for the shipping anyway, they will try to take advantage of getting the goods to them as fast as they can. This is another red flag to look out for, and will help you prevent online fraud.