How to Reduce Online Fraud

The National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded Pennsylvania a $1.1 million grant as part of the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace,
(NSTIC,) a public-private initiative to seek ways to create a so-called identity ecosystem that lets individuals choose from an array of credentials to transact business online. They are launching a development to protect its state’s residents from fraud.

In a recent interview with the State Information Security Media Group (CISO), Avakian says, "This is really going to enable convenient, secure, privacy-enhancing online transactions for our customers.This grant is going to enable secure online transactions which should also reduce fraud.”

As always, some citizens are upset that so much money was granted to CISO to prevent online fraud. I am proud of PA for recognizing how severely dangerous online fraud, identity theft and hacking has become. With everything taking place online in today’s world, any steps we can take to be more secure and prevent fraud are crucial.

In the interview, Avakian discussed how the pilot project:

·         Is set up to help reduce fraud for businesses and consumers, with research to back-up software systems which will prevent fraud and provide more accessible trust seals and security scans.

·         Will “piggyback” on existing enterprise directory services that provide single identities to state employees. This will decrease identity theft.

·         The grant will also benefit and employ outside identity verification services.

More states should take a stand against identity theft and hackers and make a difference to prevent online fraud. You don’t even have to spend $1.1 million, like the State of Pennsylvania, all it takes is raising a little awareness.

Online Banks Require Website Security

According to a recent survey conducted by Kaspersky Lab, approximately one third of online users do not feel safe when conducting financial transactions online. Online merchants have noted feeling insecure when running financial transactions online with their computers, laptops and tablets.

This same survey also revealed that an additional 28% of people using a smart phone do not feel comfortable engaging in financial transactions using mobile banking applications. In fact, when the Kaspersky Survey was broken down even more, they found that only 22% of tablet users and 27% of smartphone users are unconcerned about entering financial information from their gadgets. This means that on average, over 75% of consumers and bank account holders are worried about their personal information being accessed online.

Because of this survey’s results, financial institutions and bank representatives are shifting more and more toward online methods of delivering safe and secure services to their consumers in hopes of easing some of their concerns.

Most online users are unaware of how dangerous it can be to process transactions online. Here are some key tips to help you be secure online in every aspect.

Run Security Scans on your own computer. By making sure that your computer or tablet is secure and works with PCI Scans like those offered by Trust Guard, then you will be able to know that your private information is going to be blocked by hackers trying to breach IP Addresses.

Trust Your Bank. If you can’t trust that your bank’s website is secure, you may want to switch banks. The online world is huge, and you should be able to feel secure enough to log in to your online banking and take care of everything. One of the best ways to know if you bank’s website is secure is to see if the URL is marked with a lock next to the web address. This Lock Icon is to inform you that the website has been verified and all information posted on it is secure and private through an SSL certificate. This is one thing I always look for; not just for my online banking, but also for all secure checkout pages I visit when purchasing anything online. If I am shopping online and don’t see this security lock near the URL when checkingout, I leave the page and do my online business elsewhere. 

Example of a Secure Banking URL:

 

As an online banking user, you deserve to feel safe and secure while online. It is your responsibility though to make sure that you are doing everything you can on your end to be secure. Secure your computer with security scans and only visit websites that display secure trust seals and SSL locked domains.