In the past six years identity thieves have stolen over $107 billion. Last year, identity fraud claims spiked by 16%. And, fraudsters are increasingly finding new opportunities to commit consumer fraud with the continued growth of point-of-sale fraud and e- and m-commerce, according to recent data.
Consumer and identity fraud is an ever-growing problem, but Michael Reitblat, the CEO & Co-Founder of Forter, a leading payment fraud prevention solution, didn’t come to the 2017 Propelify Innovation Festival to scare anyone with these facts. Instead, Michael offered three simple, easy strategies companies can use to help thwart potential fraudsters.
1. Never use the same password for multiple sites
Instead of using the exact same password for multiple sites, Michael recommended using a service like LastPass to create and save different passwords for every website you go on. “Every website at some point will be breached. So, if you use the same password, you will be highly compromised.” Make new passwords for every work and personal website you frequent and change your passwords frequently for the best protection.
2. If you’re a start-up, don’t attempt to combat fraud alone
When asked about techniques startups specifically could use to prevent, Michael advised for small, nimble companies to focus their time, energy, and resources on what they were good at. “Fraud prevention is a service. Pick the provider, and focus on what you’re good at. Don’t try to collect more data in-house. Collecting more data will just make you more attractive to fraudsters to steal it away from you.”
3. Stay aware of your company’s profile
Most fraudsters target big companies (like the big identity and credit card breach for Target last year), but will come after smaller business, especially if your company starts to see massive growth or press. “If you start to see fraud activity, that means your marketing department is doing something right,” Michael said. A spike in attempted fraudulent activity, especially overseas, means you are now on the fraudster’s radar. The solution? Create a plan to ramp up fraud prevention for your business, double-down on consumer protection services (i.e. not saving credit card information), especially if you’re an e-commerce site, and make sure you have a great SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) on your website, even if you think you’re too small for one.
Watch highlights from Michael’s talk at the 2017 Propelify Innovation Festival
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