Online shopping is on par with in-person trading and is ready to surge higher in the next few years. Fueling this economic revolution is the far-reaching accessibility of electronic transactions. Simply put, nowadays, most merchants support e-payments, and consumers use them as the primary means of paying for stuff. But, how safe are they?
Electronic transactions are fundamentally EFTs. An EFT payment, or electronic funds transfer, is any form of electronic money transfer you can perform with apps like Paxum. They are fast, secure, and highly efficient. Unfortunately, they are not flawless.
This article looks closely at the risks of e-payments. Read more to discover the main vulnerabilities of electronic transactions!
- Financial frauds
The risk of financial fraud has existed since the invention of money and trade. Once shopping evolved to the online medium, this threat followed and made victims. Moreover, it grows at roughly the same speed as cyber security, giving the e-commerce industry a permanent headache.
The most common form of online financial fraud involves credit cards. This happens when a cybercriminal steals the data from a credit card and uses it for online shopping. Alternatively, a fraudster could steal a consumer’s personal data and obtain a new card, thus pouring the debt on a stranger’s shoulders.
Lastly, some cyber fraudsters will fake requests for returns to many online businesses. Unfortunately, many companies issue refunds before realizing their mistake.
- Phishing
Another significant vulnerability of electronic transactions occurs when cyber criminals practice phishing. This scam involves sending emails to thousands of consumers, informing them about potential prizes or promotions. The emails often come from reputable online shops, retail businesses, and even banks.
Naive consumers often reply by giving the fraudsters all their personal data or credit card details. At this point, cybercriminals engage in financial fraud through the many scams presented above.
- Spamming
One of the oldest vulnerabilities to e-payments is email spamming. Fraudsters use it to send virus-infected links to countless consumers. When a receiver clicks on the link, a malicious software bug downloads to their computers. The virus then copies personal data before sending it back to cybercriminals. Again, the fraudster will use it for online shopping and other scams.
- DoS & DDoS Attacks
Numerous online shops have lost substantial funds to DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks on their websites’ core software. This happens when e-commerce servers receive an avalanche of requests from countless untraceable IP addresses. As a result, they crash and become unavailable to other visitors. During this period, the websites cannot perform sales, and the data of buying customers could fall into the hands of cybercriminals.
- Malware
Lastly, a significant vulnerability to electronic transactions appears when hackers break into a website and hide malware. For example, they can hide a bug behind the “Buy now” button, which records the customer’s data before finalizing the sale.
E-commerce websites with poor security can represent a high risk to consumers everywhere. That’s why you should always shop from trusted online businesses and use safe and efficient payment processors.