Businesses Beware: The Holiday Hackers that Stole Christmas
With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and numerous events held during the holiday season quickly approaching, some hackers are looking forward to stealing personal information from consumers. While consumers realize they are at risk, businesses that offer eCommerce should also realize they are at risk of losing money and at risk of being held liable for consumers’ stolen personal information.
Beware of Holiday Hackers
According to IPWatchdog.com, “A LexisNexis study on online fraud found that large e-commerce companies saw an uptick in fraud as a percentage of total revenues between 2013 and 2015, up from .80 percent to 1.39 percent.” This percentage translates to billions of dollars lost by businesses and a plethora of chargebacks due to the activities of egregious holiday hackers. So, what action should businesses take to ensure that they do not suffer a great loss during this holiday season?
eCommerce Sites Can Take Proactive Measures Against Would Be Holiday Hackers
Businesses offering eCommerce should proactively determine how to respond following a data breach. By at least developing an effective privacy policy and terms of use, ensuring your business is in compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and obtaining insurance or liability coverage, businesses can greatly improve their chances of being legally protected if a data breach occurs. And, with these safeguards in place it may help deter holiday hackers seeking an easy target.
Additionally, there are some technological safeguards that can help to reduce the likelihood of a data breach, such as implementing a product verification procedure and using fraud prevention technology. Further, businesses should come up with a plan that can be fully implemented in the event of a data breach.
Consulting and hiring a licensed attorney to draft a privacy policy, terms of use, and customer agreements for your business may help to save money and time following a data breach. With more shopping than usual occurring during the holiday season, do not delay in ensuring that your business does not allow hackers to steal your Christmas cash and joy.
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