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Xendpay’s Advice on Fraud

Welcome to the FRAUD, PHISHING, SCAMS era, where your money, your identity and your peaceful sleep can be stolen from you in a few simple clicks.  With a culture that is pushing to “move-everything-online’, no doubt you have heard a lot about an increase in internet related scams. As a money transfer service, Xendpay is a specialist in detecting Frauds, Scams and Phishing. We deal with these problems on a daily basis and do our best to protect our clients from these problems.  

But how can I avoid FRAUD, PHISHING and SCAMS? Can these things really be avoided? Are the fraudsters and scammers and their online systems too inventive and ‘clever’ for us common Internet users? Surely we are able to recognize that the man emailing you asking for help to transfer $35 million out of Nigeria in return for a million dollars reward is unlikely to be a real person. However, as the internet grows and becomes more accessible, fraud too develops, becoming a lot harder to detect. The online scams and fraud that occurs nowadays is much more hidden and encrypted so for this reason we at Xendpay would like to share a few handy tips to help you protect yourself from these ‘parasites’. 

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Xendpay’s Fraud Advice 

It is possible to avoid fraud and Xendpay can help you defend yourself from fraudsters, the ‘medical men of the Internet’. At Xendpay we deal with online payments every single day and therefore are aware that the thought of an online service where you ‘give away’ your money can be scary. But fear not, the online systems themselves are completely safe as they use secure web site protocol called SSL and it is always human error that allows the fraud to occur, as individuals do not always protect and conceal their private information as they should. So yes, the people committing fraud are clever and sneaky, however, if you are careful and aware of their tactics you can effectively resist the dragon that is fraud.

 

  •  Keep a close watch on your personal information, especially over the phone. This approach helps those committing fraud to thrive, allowing them to steal your identity with ease, all via a phone call. A person who calls you and says he is from your bank doesn’t need to know your mother’s maiden name if it’s already on file with your bank, he just requires that information to gain access to your personal bank account. You should never give out your personal information to anyone over the phone, unless it is a vendor you know very well and you have initiated the phone call yourself. This also applies to money transfer companies. When you are making a transfer via phone, giving them your client number is fine but never disclose password or login details to anyone, including an online services representative. A phone can become a very ‘hot line’ if you are not careful, only not in the sense which it is usually associated with…
  •  Be suspicious of emails. Emails can be a source of phishing, as fraudsters send out what appears to be a legitimate email from a financial institution, such as a bank. These emails often ask you to confirm your account or credit/debit card details, including a link to where you can confirm these details and typically the email will state that failure to do so will result in your account being terminated. Have you ever thought about reacting to these emails? Oops! Big mistake! The link will take you to a site that may look perfectly legitimate, but which is in fact a fake. Just remember that banks profit from your custom, so they would never terminate an account without doing everything possible to save it. If you receive any email asking for exclusive information, take our advice: IGNORE IT!!! or call your bank to double check!
  • Choose a safe way to make your payment. Credit cards are a good option because you can dispute the charges if you never get your order or services or the offer was misrepresented, there are some limits to your liability if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly. There are also new technologies, such as “substitute” credit card numbers and password programs that can offer extra measures of protection from someone else using your credit card.
  • Browsers and http headers are your friends. Don’t ignore the information from browsers and http headers as these indicate whether the website that you are using is a secure and trusted site. You should never enter a card number unless you can see a padlock in the web browser window’s frame (rather than in the web page itself) and the website address begins https://. , but be aware that you may not see this symbol until you reach the page where you enter your credit card number. In addition to this internet tools, such as Google Maps can easily confirm that shipping addresses match the likely end-consumer. 
  • Check the payment institution. Always look for the standard Financial Authorisations and Regulations for a particular country. If it is an online provider based in the UK it will need to be authorised or registered with the FCA as a payment institution for money remittance. 

 Xendpay final words on Fraud- If anything looks too good to be true or a little Dodgy, It usually is! Always CHECK, CHECK, CHECK and finally one more CHECK – just in case you weren’t wearing your glasses the first few times. Make this practise a fixed habit. 

Do Not share your personal information on Facebook for all to see, but if you are really craving a quick share… Why not share this article, it is a lot safer!