Internet scams are dominating the news, with industry group UK Finance claiming that more than £500 million had been stolen from customers of British banks in the first half of 2018 alone. Of this sum, £145 million was due to authorised push payment scams — instances of fraud where people are conned into placing money into another account.

While members of the public should obviously be worried about internet scams, so too should businesses as they are also usually targeted through them. Infinium, holiday park WiFi providers which also offer IT security services, has therefore offered this six-point guide on what businesses can be doing to make sure that customers know that a company’s interactions across the web are always legitimate…

1.      Implement a trusted payment gateway on your website, if necessary

Does your website not have its own payment service? Then make sure you opt for a trusted payment gateway which can conduct online transactions on your behalf. PayPal and WorldPay are two firms which instantly come to mind, with both helping to make consumers feel secure.

2.      Let everyone access your privacy statement

The majority of major retailers will allow customers to access their legal privacy statements when on the firm’s website. It’s important that your legal privacy statement is filled with details about how you work to protect the information that consumers give about themselves — such as their personal details and credit card information.

3.      Allow your ISO certification to be checked

Have the logo of the certification body that issued an ISO certification to your business featured on a part of your website. This is because customers can then search for the certification body in question and get in touch with them to verify that your company is in fact legitimate.

4.      Use a registered address and landline phone number on your site

It should be a stress-free experience for members of the public to find a legitimate online business’ registered address and phone number. There are some additional considerations to bear in mind here too.

There is a chance that some potential customers will head along to the registered address of a firm before they buy a product or invest in a service, as they’ll be making sure all is indeed genuine. Therefore, ensure there’s either a sign or some indication of your business’ presence within the office or building where the address is linked to.

Landline numbers should be used when selecting the phone number for a business too. While a mobile number doesn’t mean that a firm isn’t legitimate, its presence will instantly see potential customers put their guard up. Of course, people may call the number to check that it’s genuine as well, so make sure it’s always a member of staff who answers the call and that they introduce themselves with a professional greeting and mention of the company name.

5.      Implement SSL security protocol throughout your website

The acronym SSL means Secure Sockets Layer. It’s a security protocol whereby the channel of information between a customer and a business’ website is encrypted. Therefore, credit card details will be ‘scrambled’ and hackers will not have the opportunity to intercept the information that consumers ae sending to retailers.

Finding out if a website has SSL security protocol implemented is simple. This is because your site’s URL will alter from ‘http://’ to the more secure ‘https://’. What’s more, on the left-hand side of the address bar will either be an unbroken key or a closed padlock — if these icons look to be broken or open, it could well indicate that there’s something wrong with the site’s SSL.

6.      Place your business on the FCA register (when dealing with financial products & services)

Details regarding all financial companies which are registered and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) can be read on the in-depth FCA register. It stands to reason then that your company should be on this register if you deal in financial services or products, as consumers can then easily check your firm’s credentials by just searching for your brand’s name and/or the postcode associated with your business.