Merchant Processing Solutions Inc.: How to Prevent Credit Card Fraud!

Monday, August 28, 2017

How to Prevent Credit Card Fraud!

Credit card fraud costs EVERYONE billions of dollars annually but there are ways to reduce your expose. Did you know that the majority of fraud happens at ATM Machines and POS Terminals? Did you know that the owner of the credit card is NOT LIABLE for the loss....the credit card issuer and the merchant is! So, if you are a merchant, what can you do to prevent credit card fraud?

NEVER save credit card info ANYWHERE! - I had a customer tell me that they charge their customers monthly. I noticed she has a credit card terminal. I asked here if they came into the shop monthly to swipe the card or did she call them? She informed me that she had all their credit card info in their respective folder in the file cabinet. YIKES!!!!!! This is not PCI Compliant and if for any reason there was fraud on the merchant account ALL charges and fees would be the responsibility of the MERCHANT.
If your company offers monthly billing to its customers, talk to Merchant Processing Solutions Inc. about our Virtual Terminal option. It will allow you to set up monthly recurring billing or one-time payments but the credit card is securely stored behind an encrypted gateway No info is on your website, email, computers or in your office!
Keep your Firewall, Computers and Software Programs UPDATED with the latest security patches. Have your IT Person do diagnostics on your computer systems regularly.
ALWAYS use the EMV Chip Card Reader. EMV adds a layer of security. It prevents credit card fraud at POS terminals by sending a request for a "one-time use approval code". No credit card info is actually send through the credit card machine. This technology has grown increasingly popular among retailers since liability laws shifted responsibility for fraud to credit card issuers and merchant.
Always look for "card skimmers" in your place of business. Employees and vendors, with access, can add or change elements of your credit card machine and either steal money from you by changing your processing without your knowledge or they can just steal credit card data.