10 Tips for Businesses to Fight Credit Card Theft, Fraud

Cyber criminals have a built-in advantage when it comes to compromising data. They think day and night about how to invent and execute a clever attack, and they gravitate to pathways that offer the least resistance for the greatest payoff. Many work for organized crime syndicates.

Payment fraud can also strike close to home. A disgruntled employee with high-level access to internal financial systems and passwords could compromise the security of an entire organization.

Yet most companies don’t have full-time security defense teams with the same intensity and focus on deterring hackers. So the odds of a successful breach are in the hacker’s favor.

Study after study shows that failure to protect sensitive payment data from a breach leads to massive financial costs, customer defections, lawsuits and loss of reputation. But by being equipped with the latest tools and techniques, organizations both large and small can effectively prevent and deter cyber fraud.

Managing the risk of a porous corporate perimeter has never been easy. But as the economic world becomes more complex and payment fraud more prevalent, it’s critical that companies arm themselves with tools and techniques that make cutting-edge fraud protection simple to use and effortless to manage.

Here are 10 tried-and-true best practices for protecting customer credit card account information and minimizing exposure to online payment scams:

1. The Best Defense is a Multilayered Offense. Assume your company’s computer systems will be compromised at some point and plan for it. No system on earth is 100 percent hack-proof, so manage the risk of a potential breach by solving for the concept of “graceful failure” -- a deep, multilayered strategy that assumes perpetrators will eventually gain some form of access to your confidential data and, if one safeguard fails, other countermeasures can detect and respond to an attack by locking down payment data so it’s worthless to hackers in case of a breach.

A good payment security system shouldn’t merely detect intrusions. It should also have multiple deterrence layers that effectively complicate a breach attempt along with virtual padlocks on information access so there’s less to steal if a thief does break in.

In your multilayered system, assign unique IDs to each person with computer access. Combine user IDs, passwords and access tokens with tight, permission-based business rules around who needs to see or authorize confidential information such as credit card types and accounts, then provide exceptions for specific people and circumstances. Set very granular limits on transaction size and transaction velocity, based on time of day and day of week, so that nothing and no one gets past your virtual front door after normal working hours. Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data, then ensure a detailed audit trail is created, so that you’ll know who touched what data and when.

Think of this technology as a "Neighborhood Watch" for your computer network. It automatically sounds alerts for "things that don't belong" -- out-of-pattern, unexpected events -- whether they're intentional changes made by a system administrator or unintended, such as a failing hard drive or a malware attack.

When the monitoring system finds anomalies, it sends up a flare, immediately summons your IT staff that something is wrong -- akin to police responding to a Neighborhood Watch emergency call.

2. Form an Internal SWAT Team. To prevent a toxic data spill, assemble an internal “hazmat” team that thinks and works strategically to prevent and deter attacks rather than just detect them. Establish policies that address your company’s information security requirements and processes, then share those policies with employees, suppliers and vendors so that everyone understands one another’s goals, requirements and capabilities.

3. Use Your Head. An alert mind is often the best defense against fraud. Train administrators and other users of your payment system to keep an eye out for "things that don't belong" -- unexpected account usage, for example -- and to sound an alert in case of anomalies.

Limit employee access to confidential cardholder data, since there's usually very little need for most company personnel to see or handle that data. Merchants who accept credit or purchase cards should set up their payment systems so that access is limited to key staff on a need-to-know basis.

Warn employees against clicking on pop-up windows or suspicious links in emails – even from people or businesses that appear legitimate -- which can be tricks to install spyware and steal confidential information.

When using a website’s checkout cart, train employees and customers to look for safety symbols such as the padlock icon in a browser’s status bar, “s” after “http” in the URL or the words "Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)" -- all signs that a merchant is using a secure page for transmitting confidential information.

With social networking increasingly prevalent among today’s workforce, establish guidelines for employee use of social media. Train personnel who update company blogs or access other social media sites to secure their privacy settings.

4. Lock Down System Gateways and Endpoints. Protecting against malicious viruses, malware and spyware infections is often the first line of defense against a security breach. Your network architecture and PCs should be scanned frequently for vulnerabilities, every transaction point where payment information is exchanged should be scrutinized, and all document payment data flows and touch points secured. Install antivirus and antispyware software from trusted sources and keep them updated with the latest patches. Automatically scan any flash drives or external hardware that connect to your network for viruses or malware. Never turn off your firewall, and have business policies in place for regular firewall maintenance. Use strong passwords and change them routinely.

5. Stay Informed. When deciding on technologies for payment processing, be fluent in privacy protection as well as the 12 credit card protection and compliance requirements under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). By staying up-to-date, you’ll be able to intelligently discuss the issues and decide on the countermeasures needed for your system as part of the sourcing team involved in payment technology acquisition.

6. Foster Awareness. Stopping cyber crime begins and ends with individual computers and their users. Ensure all employees, contract personnel and business partners know your company’s fraud policies, practices and fraud-response processes. Given the growing role of organized crime in perpetrating credit card fraud and theft, make sure anyone with access to important intellectual property and trade secrets is trained on the latest cyber criminal breach tactics, such as phishing, man-in-the-browser attacks and other social engineering schemes.

7. Adopt Industry Safeguards. The major U.S. credit card companies developed the PCI standards as guidelines to help merchants, vendors, service providers and banks that collect, process and store credit card data protect it from being stolen or compromised. Becoming PCI-certified doesn't magically shield a business from losing data or provide impenetrable security against hackers or malware. But the standards have proven to be an excellent roadmap for data security best practices. Use PCI DSS not only for card activity, but also as a roadmap for protecting access to other sensitive information, such as employee Social Security numbers or patient medical records.

8. Don’t Collect What You Can’t Protect. One of the safest practices for businesses that process credit card data is so obvious it is often overlooked: eliminating the storage of that data altogether. No data stored = less risk. Unless it’s absolutely necessary to retain payment or cardholder data, don’t. Because every point at which credit card data is handled must be secured, conforming with PCI rules as well as building and defending one’s own data fortress can be extraordinarily difficult and prohibitively expensive. Organizations that collect and store that data themselves often find the process to be a huge headache with potentially significant liabilities rather than a convenience for their customers. Transferring sensitive credit card and payment transaction data off site, where it is encrypted and stored at highly secure, PCI-compliant processing centers, is often the best solution.

9. Change the Target. Tokenization is one of the best strategic weapons for protecting financial data. This process safely replaces a customer’s real 16-digit credit card numbers or bank account data with a randomly generated string of characters called tokens, which then become useless to would-be hackers.

10. Do Your Outsourcing Homework. When choosing an outside payment system or data security vendor, make sure they have deep security capabilities and a like-minded business focus. If card-based, check that they’re PCI-compliant, are audited every year by an independent third party and are Tier-1 certified. Tier-1 certification ensures that every feature, function and operational element of a company’s services meets the highest levels of PCI data security Does the vendor offer the best combination of low cost, security, flexibility and ease of use for processing card payments? How often are logs that track user activity reviewed? Will audit trail analyses be readily accessible? Will the vendor save you money by applying the lowest available credit card interchange rates when customer purchase transactions are accompanied by detailed, invoice-like information known as Level-3 line-item data? How robust are the vendor’s data centers that will house your customers’ payment information? Seek suppliers whose global payment platform and tokenization capabilities manifest a high degree of security authentication and controls across all payment types and provide a mix of services you need with the most secure infrastructure and policies.

Featured

  • 2024 Security Today New Product of the Year Award Winners Announced

    More than 20 companies are being recognized this year for products that help keep us safe. Read Now

  • It Always Rains in Florida

    Over the years, and many trips to various cities, I have experienced some of the craziest memorable things. One thing I always count on when going to Orlando is a massive rainstorm after the tradeshow has concluded the first day. Count on it, it is going to rain Monday evening. Expect that it will be a gully washer. Read Now

    • Industry Events
  • Live from GSX 2024 Preview

    It’s hard to believe, but GSX 2024 is almost here. This year’s show runs from Monday, September 23 to Wednesday, September 25 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The Campus Security Today and Security Today staff will be on hand to provide live updates about the security industry’s latest innovations, trends, and products. Whether you’re attending the show or keeping tabs on it from afar, we’ve got you covered. Make sure to follow the Live from GSX page for photos, videos, interviews, product demonstrations, announcements, commentary, and more from the heart of the show floor! Read Now

    • Industry Events
  • Elevate Your Business

    In today’s dynamic business environment, companies specializing in physical security are constantly evolving to remain competitive. One strategic shift these businesses can make to give them the advantage is a full or partial transition to a recurring revenue model, popularly called a subscription service. This approach will bring numerous benefits that not only enhance business stability but also improve customer relationships and drive innovation. Recurring monthly revenue (RMR) or recurring annual revenue (RAR) are two recurring cadence choices that work simply and effectively. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3

  • Mobile Safe Shield

    Mobile Safe Shield

    SafeWood Designs, Inc., a manufacturer of patented bullet resistant products, is excited to announce the launch of the Mobile Safe Shield. The Mobile Safe Shield is a moveable bullet resistant shield that provides protection in the event of an assailant and supplies cover in the event of an active shooter. With a heavy-duty steel frame, quality castor wheels, and bullet resistant core, the Mobile Safe Shield is a perfect addition to any guard station, security desks, courthouses, police stations, schools, office spaces and more. The Mobile Safe Shield is incredibly customizable. Bullet resistant materials are available in UL 752 Levels 1 through 8 and include glass, white board, tack board, veneer, and plastic laminate. Flexibility in bullet resistant materials allows for the Mobile Safe Shield to blend more with current interior décor for a seamless design aesthetic. Optional custom paint colors are also available for the steel frame. 3

  • HD2055 Modular Barricade

    Delta Scientific’s electric HD2055 modular shallow foundation barricade is tested to ASTM M50/P1 with negative penetration from the vehicle upon impact. With a shallow foundation of only 24 inches, the HD2055 can be installed without worrying about buried power lines and other below grade obstructions. The modular make-up of the barrier also allows you to cover wider roadways by adding additional modules to the system. The HD2055 boasts an Emergency Fast Operation of 1.5 seconds giving the guard ample time to deploy under a high threat situation. 3