5 essential fraud prevention tips for a booming Black Friday

As the year quickly draws to a close, merchants are eagerly awaiting a spike in sales from major events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Singles Day, and Boxing Day. But amid the peak season buzz, businesses need to be prepared for another surge: a jump in payment-related fraud.

Historical data shows that an increase in sales traffic often goes hand-in-hand with a rise in fraudulent activities. But staying a step ahead of scammers is easy with our simple tips. Dive in to discover how to protect your business against evolving fraud threats and ensure peak sales don't turn into peak vulnerabilities for your business.

1. Use secure payment solutions

As consumers continue to embrace online shopping channels, digital security can no-longer be overlooked. Make sure your payment workflow is equipped with PCI-DSS compliant solutions for digital transactions. Additionally, if you haven’t already, consider implementing protocols like 3DS2 for authenticating card users, to offer both your customers and your business an additional layer of protection against potential fraud.

Till merchants can rest easy knowing that Online Checkout has PCI-DSS compliance built-in to ensure all payment information is safely transmitted, processed and stored. For remote payments, merchants using Till’s Payment Links take advantage of 3DS2 authentication technology as standard, helping you verify your customer’s identity even when they’re paying remotely.

2. Protect your refund PIN

The rise in sales often leads to an increase in returns. As such, ensuring the security of your refund PIN is critical. A compromised PIN can lead to unauthorised or illegitimate refunds, ultimately impacting your bottom line.

To minimise this risk, regularly update your PIN and strengthen its security by steering clear of simple or repetitive sequences (e.g. 1111, 1234) or easily identifiable numeric combinations (e.g. birthdays). You can further protect the safety and security of your refund PIN by limiting its access to just a select few of your most trusted employees.

3. Keep a close eye on your transactions

During the busy peak sales periods, fraudulent transactions can sometimes go unnoticed. Tools like Till Portal, which consolidate data from all your payment channels into one platform, are invaluable for consistently monitoring and reviewing transaction records efficiently. Plus, having a single view of all your transactions in one platform can help you quickly identify suspicious activity such as large, unauthorised refunds. Not only can quick detection minimise potential damage, but it serves to help in tracing back any breaches in case you need to report fraudulent activity to your card scheme or payment provider.

Merchants partnered with Till enjoy complimentary access to intuitive business insights via platforms like the Till Portal. This tool enables effortless real-time transaction monitoring to rapidly detect irregular activity, ensuring greater peace of mind.

4. When it comes to education, don’t just set and forget.

Awareness is the first line of defence for protecting your business, so make sure your team is up-to-date with the latest in fraud tactics by offering opportunities for continuous learning. As a leader, you can do this by providing access to trusted resources and encouraging a culture of knowledge sharing. There are a range of free and trustworthy resource available online, like The National Anti-Scam Centre, which provides up-to-date information on current and emerging fraud threats via Scamwatch. And don’t forget to bookmark Till’s News page for the latest insights on payment fraud risks.

In addition to essential reading, you should also emphasise the importance of strict security protocols when it comes to handling payments. Regular training sessions can help employees spot suspicious activities, follow best practices for payment security and take prompt action, when needed.

5. Choose a trusted fintech partner.

Everyone in your business, as well as your end-customer, benefits from having dependable fintech providers on your team. And with a range of cutting-edge financial technologies at your disposal – from payments to accounting to BNPL and instant refunds – you can gain an edge over your competitors with the right fintech stack.

However, just as you would with any other aspect of your business, it’s critical to do your due diligence before signing up for something that might end up costing you in the long run. Make sure your fintech partners are not only compliant in today's payment landscape, but are also committed to remaining up-to-date and on the cutting-edge of fraud-prevention technologies, security trends and regulatory changes.

There are a few simple steps you can take to verify your payment provider's compliance status:

1. Make sure their website and your payment gateway is secure by checking for a padlock next to the website's address. This shows they have a valid SSL certificate.

2. Look for symbols on their website that signifies their PCI compliance. This could look like a seal or a badge.

3. Get in touch with their Customer Support team and request to see a copy of their PCI-Compliance Certificate and have a discussion about their PCI compliance policies.

Sealing the deal against fraud...

Till stands by our valued merchants, offering a comprehensive approach to payment security that guarantees fraud prevention without compromising your customers’ experience – all year round. As fraud trends evolve you can rely on Till to deliver the latest in payment security, ensuring your business stays shielded from potential threats, no matter what lurks around the corner.

This festive season, partner with Till and ensure that the only spikes you see are in sales, not fraud. Reach out to a member of our friendly team via our Contact page to find out more about what we can do to help protect your business this sales season and beyond.