Prepare Your Business For These Online Shopping Security Threats

You’ve likely heard horror stories from the early days of online shopping. People would be taken in by the idea of getting the best deal around, and find themselves paying for items that never really existed in the first place, for example. There have always been scammers out there, after all. And in many ways, advances in technology have made online shopping safer than it was at the start. But in this modern age, the threats to your business’ security when shopping online are also far more sophisticated. And far more dangerous in turn.

While there are plenty of articles out there helping eCommerce stores to mitigate the threats to their clientele and offer safe online shopping facilities, it’s important for you, as a potential customer, to understand the dangers that eCommerce can present, and how to implement online shopping security measures that will keep your business secure.

1. Phishing Attacks 

We’ve spoken before about the dangers that phishing poses. And one of the most popular techniques that phishers use is offering deals that seem too good to pass up on. In reality, they’re too good to be true.

These phishing mails will often look legitimate. They’ll seem as though they’re coming from a trusted online shopping source – Amazon, Takealot, eBay, etc. The more popular the store, the more access an attacker has to resources like logos, product images, and more to make their emails look as real as possible. They may even look like they’re coming from a company that you’re used to doing business with. They do this to increase the likelihood that someone will believe their ploy and click on their dubious link.

From there, an attacker has the opportunity to plant malware on devices, capture login details from your attempts to access the site, and even potentially capture credit card details that are entered by unsuspecting victims.

2. Cross-Site Scripting

Even trusted online stores can fall victim to cyber-attacks. And when they do, it’s particularly dangerous for their customer bases’ online shopping security.

Take, for example, Cross-Site Scripting attacks. They happen when a website has a vulnerability that lets an attacker post code to their site. It could be through a comment field or even a search console.

Anyone who visits the site then becomes a potential victim, involuntarily running the script and allowing the attacker access to information like usernames and passwords. This in turn provides them with access to users’ full accounts, from which further information can be gathered, and more damage can be done, particularly when it comes to business accounts.

3. Man in the Middle Attacks

Wi-Fi is fantastic when it comes to keeping yourself connected on the move. But using public wireless networks is also incredibly risky, particularly when it comes to business transactions. Because they’re available to everyone, public networks are far less secure than their private alternatives, making it easy for attackers to infiltrate communications, and making them an especially dangerous online shopping security threat.

It’s a terrible idea to access anything that requires a username and password while on a public network (unless you’re using a VPN). But it’s also a bad idea to shop online over public Wi-Fi. Even though you may not be entering your login credentials, keeping them secure, any communication that you send through to an online store through chats, forms or comments can be intercepted in what’s known as a Man in the Middle attack.

The attacker will prevent your message from going through to the intended target and instead respond themselves. This provides them with a great opportunity to falsify information. They can, for example, provide seemingly inconspicuous, but illicit, email addresses or malicious links. Their victims will feel confident using those addresses and clicking the links because they came from what seemed to be a legitimate source. And from there the attackers have full control.

4. Credit Card Fraud

While credit card fraud predates online shopping by a long way, has always been a shopping security concern, eCommerce has made it a lot easier for fraud to take place.

It’s easier for attackers to gain access not just to credit card details, which they can form their own purchases or even hold ransom. But if an attacker has access to your personal or business details – names, physical addresses, ID numbers, phone numbers, and more – they can even put in a request with your bank to get a new credit card without your knowledge.

While banks do offer insurance against credit card fraud, ensuring that your funds will be returned to you, the return is almost never instant. Investigations can last for days, weeks, or months. And in the meantime, your business bears the brunt of the loss.