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(NC) A recent survey found one fifth of Canadians feel businesses should protect consumers against financial fraud. It’s important for consumers and businesses to work with their financial institution to help identify and prevent fraudulent activity. Here are some things for businesses and consumers to consider when using debit and credit cards:
Daily reconciliation.
Reconcile all your business banking transactions every day. This data can be quickly and easily accessed online and will give you same day insights into your accounts.
Validate payment instructions.
Exercise caution when receiving emails containing instructions appearing to be from or on behalf of an executive requesting urgent processing of a wire payment. Verify requests through another channel to confirm authenticity.
Check surroundings.
Inspect point-of-sale equipment regularly, including serial numbers, wires and cables. If anything looks unfamiliar, appears altered or is missing, notify your merchant solutions provider immediately. Check ceilings, walls or shelves near PIN pads for holes that could conceal a small camera. Remember that the most common way of stealing a cardholder’s PIN is by “shoulder surfing” — looking over the cardholder’s shoulder. Make sure that any security cameras on the premises don’t capture you entering a PIN.
Verify online transactions.
Monitor your account activity and take advantage of security features available from payment networks to protect yourself from fraudulent online transactions. These include using available CVV validation or billing address verification services. Look for websites that use Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode services to add an extra level of security to your online transactions.
“We encourage our customers to work closely with us to put appropriate safeguards in place for all payments that involve online, mobile and in-person transactions,” says Dennis Parker, vice president at TD Bank.
Find more information online at tdcanadatrust.com.
