Do your customers get their Christmas stolen? Tell them how to prevent it

Do your customers mistrust Christmas purchases? They are probably not the only ones. We are a few days away from celebrating two of the year’s most important Christmas and New Year festivities. On this occasion, our company and family dinners and Christmas purchases will not be the same as in previous years, giving way to distractions that can result in exposure to cybersecurity dangers related to cybersecurity.

Figures show it: During this year and in the pandemic period, there was a 59% increase in the number of complaints about computer crimes in Colombia, according to the register of the Cybernetic Center of the National Police. In Chile, NovaRed company detected a 40% increase in computer crimes during February and March this same year, with a 90% increase only in the phishing method.

In the current scenario, it is natural to spend our days with several connected mobile devices (laptops, smartphones and tablets), which allow being in contact with our families, participating in events, making our purchases and for leisure moments. Therefore, Kushki wants to provide a series of recommendations that you can offer your customers to stay alert and avoid being another victim of these cybercriminals.

Make sure that the business and the website are safe before buying

One of the main methods cybercriminals use, is to send attractive offers, which are very difficult to reject. For this, your customers must research the company, the product or service that is the subject of this offer, where previous users have validated the veracity of these.

Use recognized gateways and payment methods

Something critical to consider is the payment gateway that they are going to use to make their payment, since this one will be in charge of processing the financial confidential data. For this, Kushki is an excellent option, since it is a recognized gateway in the industry, and the largest shops in the region operate through it, providing them with security in data processing through their PCI DSS certification.

Never disclose more information than necessary

One must be cautious: Never provide card information data, financial accounts data, or passwords through phone calls to people who claim to be part of a financial institution. Similarly, refrain from doing it with shops where purchases have been made. Monitor financial transactions

It is important to verify all consumer notifications that financial institutions send, from the smallest amount to the highest amount of money. A technique used by cybercriminals is to make minimum charges to avoid being detected.

Keep all devices up-to-date

Update periodically all technological resources that are used to make online purchases. This way, your customers ensure that the system is operating at 100% and is not prone to errors or data leaks.

Act fast

If financial information or card data is suspected of being compromised, your customer must immediately contact the financial entity to update them.

Handle the credit card correctly

For being responsible and cautious with the use of the credit card, it is important to observe the following recommendations:

• Limit use amounts
• Limit uses abroad
• Activate consumption notifications, indicating the time, date, amount, and company where it was made
• Save the confidential data of each card
• Never provide information such as the card number, the expiration date or cvv code through calls, social media or email.

Just as your customers must be careful, you, as a business, must also take certain precautions. Make sure to keep all your protocols up to date to prevent fraud in these holiday periods. Choosing a good gateway and establishing clear security rules is a good start.