Partner Article

Proving your online shop isn't a scam

As small business websites are increasingly mistaken for online scams, Osca St Marthe, UK&I Senior Director for Information Security at McAfee, outlines four steps to help you prove you are secure.

Scams – online or offline – are everywhere, affect everyone and can strike at any time. According to the Citizens Advice Bureaux is estimated that nearly half of people in the UK have been targeted by a scam. More than three million people in the UK fall victim every year - at a cost of £3.5 billion annually.

In particular, online shopping scams are becoming ever-more evolved, tailored and tempting. With the sale of counterfeit products, phishing of consumer credit card details, and money being taken for goods that are never delivered, it is hardly surprising that many online shoppers are starting to tread with caution when it comes to purchasing over the web.

In response to the rise in fraudulent schemes, the Citizens Advice Bureaux has launched Scams Awareness Month with the Trading Standards Institute, aiming to educate the public around how to spot a malicious offer and ultimately reduce the number of people falling victim to scams.

However, this type of awareness initiative could have an unexpected impact on legitimate small online businesses, who may struggle to prove their legitimacy and security credibility to more vigilant customers. As awareness of the risks associated with passing over credit card details online rises, genuine small businesses risk losing out as customers boycott their sites, for fear that they are not secure. In fact, according to Cybersource’s 2012 UK Online Fraud Report, 85% of consumers will only shop online with what they see as reputable named retailers.

As customers are increasingly moving away from the high-street in favour of quick and easy online shopping, simply avoiding the online route to market and sticking to bricks and mortar outlets is not an option for small retailers. SMEs that ignore the digital channel reportedly lose out at around £13bn per year, according to an O2 Business survey. As such, embracing the web has become crucial to small businesses.

Here are four simple steps that can help you prove your SME online shop is not a scam:

• Anti-Virus (AV) is not enough: According to Verizon Communications, SMEs are the new target for cybercrime – 67% of data breaches in 2011 took place at companies with fewer than 100 employees. Anti-virus software is not a suitable solution for a growing business handling customer data on a daily basis. It is therefore important to consider a holistic security strategy that aligns to your business needs and customer protection, incorporating AV with cloud-based solutions, which can help eliminate unwanted or dangerous content before it reaches your network

• Judge a book by its cover: Once your business’ security is guaranteed, prove it to your customers. Appearance is everything in the online world and this will go a long way in influencing customer trust and gaining their confidence. Pixelated images, a lack of colour or branding standardisation, misspelt words and a confusing, overly-busy layout looks anything but professional, and could make your perfectly legitimate small business look like an illegal scam

• Do your homework: Keeping up to speed with industry advancements in technology, trends and regulation updates is key if an SME is to survive in the online world. Knowing where to look for this information is often the first hurdle to overcome though. Sites such as The Federation of Small Businesses, GOV.UK and The Institute of Directors are all useful bookmarks for the SME owner.

• Trust is everything: Before entering into a sale online, customers need to be confident of a retailer’s security and privacy status, and have visibility into how the merchant protects customer information. With this in mind, gaining customer confidence from the moment they arrive on your site is key. A clear sign that their personal data will be safe in your hands is crucial to this. For example, an independently-qualified secure logo positioned on your homepage will mark your business as a safe place to shop, and is a simple yet effective step in gaining customer confidence.

With the e-tail market dominated by the global giants, incorporating a security platform that not only enhances the customer experience and protects their personal identity, but also secures your small online business, is crucial. No legitimate business should be mistaken for a scammer – if you have a comprehensive security strategy in place, prove it to your customers. It will secure their confidence – and their custom.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by McAfee .