Help Protect Your Business from Merchant Account Fraud

 

The security of your credit card processing systems and your customers’ financial data is integral to the health of your business. These systems are increasingly under attack from cybercriminals who use sophisticated methods to access valuable account information. It’s critical to be aware of any threats to your business and have measures in place to deter fraudsters.

 

Accepting payments is the lifeline of your business.

In the last year 37% of businesses have been impacted by fraud.

Here are some ways you can combat it.

If you accept payments in person:

Use the EMV chip.

When prompted, encourage your customers to enter their PIN.

If you’re accepting payments virtually or online, review and consider all fraud filter settings including, but not limited to:

CVV

AVS

Velocity Thresholds

IP Address.

Employ CAPTCHA. A way to tell humans from automated bots.

The security of your account is our top priority.

Have questions on fraud prevention? Contact the Merchant Services team.

KeyBank. Let’s keep your payments secure and your business running smoothly.

How Cybercriminals Are Attacking

Taking advantage of vulnerabilities in your system’s security, fraudsters will hack merchant accounts to run authorizations to test the validity of card details they have stolen or purchased on the dark web. These fraudulent authorizations can result in an onslaught of fees and charge-back risks to your business.

Best Practices at the Credit Card Terminal

  • Use Address Verification (AVS) during each sale if the card is not present.
  • Enter the three- or four-digit Card Verification Value (CVV) whenever possible.
  • Swipe or use the EMV chip as much as possible.

Merchant Fraud Stats (% of Companies Affected)1

36%

Card Testing

When a fraudster makes a small purchase to test if a card is active and if the purchase avoids the merchant’s fraud prevention measures.

28%

Botnets

One of the most prevalent forms of fraud, a botnet is a network of computers infected with malware and controlled without the user being aware, typically for nefarious activities such as digital ad fraud.

37%

Account Takeover

When a cyber attacker gains control of a legitimate account, enabling them to assume an employee’s identity and defraud customers and business partners.

 

For more information on how to keep your business information secure, please contact Key Merchant Services at 1-855-623-4236 (dial 711 for TTY/TRS). For our customers using a Relay Service: Dial 711 and then the toll free number) or visit key.com/cybersecurity.

 

1

Source: Cybersource, 2019 Global eCommerce Fraud Management Report.