Technology has opened up endless doors of opportunity. As it evolves, technology continues to support new ways of doing business and expands card not present transactions. Businesses have more solutions than ever, and customers have a wider array of payment options than ever before.
However, advances in technology have also created new opportunities for fraud. Botnet attack and static biometric fakery, to name just a few. Even an old-fashioned vector like telephone conversations impact card not present fraud. In fact, this fraud type is becoming more and more of an issue.
CNP Fraud is Growing in the U.S.
Digital commerce has heightened the risk of phone fraud, which can impact card not present fraud. Fraudsters know that they can sometimes get away with manipulating customer service representatives into sharing information. These sensitive details, which range from account access to state secrets, obviously have a tremendous cost to the organizations that fall under attack. Unfortunately, customer service teams are often the most vulnerable part of a company’s fraud-prevention program.
It’s true that this method, vishing (aka voice phishing), is less common than email-based phishing schemes. However, it can quickly become incredibly expensive. According to Forbes, the average cost of a successful vishing attack against a business is $43,000 per compromised account – the stakes can be even higher.
How Your Business Can Avoid CNP Fraud
There are steps your business can take to tighten customer service security.
- Implement a standardized, multi-step process for authenticating callers.
- Develop strict rules on what information can be changed or shared over the phone.
- Train customer service reps to keep customers happy and their information secure.
- Prohibit callers from changing PINs and passwords over the phone.
- Require customers to go online to change account access information. (This allows your business to screen those requests with digital authentication tools, which will raise flags if geo-location and device identity don’t match the customer’s profile or history.)
It’s also important to address bullying. There are many scenarios in which a service rep might feel bullied or lulled into complying with an insecure request. To manage this, create a clear process of authentication steps for your customer service reps to follow. You will also need to provide a quick solution when the caller can’t provide the requested information.
This will also require you to thoroughly train your customer service managers. You want your service reps to have the assurance that managers will support them in those types of situations. Managers should be ready to take over the situation and handle caller demands for information without authentication.
Why You Should Consider a High-Risk Merchant Account
In addition to training your customer service team to recognize vishing attempts, giving them resources and training them to handle difficult situations, make sure you provide the right tools. When it comes to digital ecommerce, customers today expect the very best in customer service and payment processing. Making sure you have a merchant account that supports multiple payment gateways is a must.
Having trouble securing the merchant services you need? The team at emerchantbroker.com specializes in working with business types and industries other processors won’t. If you’re struggling to secure payment processing, consider a high-risk merchant account.
EMB offers a full suite of electronic payment processing solutions that help virtually any merchant accept credit cards and checks electronically.
- Fast approvals in 24 – 48 hours.
- No set up fees for most merchants.
- High Risk merchants approved.
- High volume solutions: load balancing gateways and multiple MIDS.
- Chargeback protection & chargeback prevention programs available.
- iCheck Check Processing service, featuring quick payments.
Keep your customers happy by offering great customers service and convenient payment options. EMB’s industry-leading services will also help you protect against the growing threat of fraud and keep customers’ data safe.