The pandemic has brought several noticeable changes in our day-to-day life. Billions of people around the world stayed in home-quarantine during the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown period. In this period people developed many new habits and/or changed their lifestyles. This change is especially visible in the purchasing trend of the people. The convenience of the system soon caught up and it is adding value for both the customer and the retailers. But it has also opened the door for e-commerce fraud. Let’s dig into this issue and learn some safety tips against e-commerce scams.

What Is E-commerce Fraud? 

E-commerce fraud is in the process of eluding the customers or the retailers. A customer might order a certain product and receive a duplicate copy or a damaged product. There are reports of no product delivery at all after payment. Simply put, e-commerce fraud is the process where multiple discrepancies occur either through the customer, the retailer, or the platform itself. 

The pandemic accelerated the e-commerce business platforms. With that, several scams rose too. 

Read Investment: What Factors to Consider before Investing Money?

There are several common scam types when it comes to e-commerce platforms. All of them affect retailers, e-commerce platforms as well as the customer. The nature and intricacies of these frauds make them almost impossible to recognize by the untrained eyes. However, all of these scams follow certain patterns which can be prevented with effective steps. 

Ways To Avoid E-commerce Scam 

These ways are specific to each of the e-commerce platforms, the retailers, and the customer. Since all three of the stakeholders in the e-commerce ecosystem face different forms of scams. 

Conducting Site Security Audits 

Sitewide audits can help to pinpoint the issues regarding scams. The thing about online scams is that they tend to exploit a small loophole within the system. So effective measures to secure any loophole can go a long way to prevent scams. 

Read F-commerce in Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects

The scam itself occurs in a few different ways. Site security, dashboard, and admin access, payment channel access are a few of them. Regularly updating them and checking for malware can help to effectively protect against attackers. 

Check For PCI Compliance 

PCI stands for Payment Card Industry. The PCI standard requires e-commerce platforms to maintain certain conditions to ensure transaction transparency. PCI standard helps to effectively monitor the card transactions. It also checks for fraudulent payments and ensures complete security in the payment gateway. 

Check For Suspicious Activities 

Shoplifting is a common thing. Not just in physical stores but in e-commerce platforms as well. This type of fraud is carried out by false billing addresses or fraudulent payments. Just like physical stores, a customer’s activities can be traced to ensure there is no fraud. Many e-commerce sites appoint fraud experts to check for any kind of suspicious activity in the ordering process. Some services ensure the legitimacy of the billing address which is detailed in the next point. 

Read Key Challenges to Start E-Commerce Business in Bangladesh

Using AVS 

AVS stands for Address Verification Service. Most banks offer the AVS service as part of the anti-fraudulent transaction services. It checks the card’s billing address with the delivery address to ensure whether any kind of fraud is involved or not. The bank or the payment gateway automatically suspends any such transactions and opens further queries. It is a pretty useful step when it comes to safeguarding the retail stores. 

Using Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure

HTTPS helps to create a secure channel between the customer and the e-commerce platform. A good number of clients are defrauded because their transaction details get compromised. This happens in absence of an HTTPS service. The protocol helps to ensure that the payment details including the billing address remain completely secure against external interference. 

Check For IP Address 

Every device has a unique IP address. An IP address is an effective way to find out the location of any device. This can be a useful tool to deter fraud on an e-commerce site. A retailer can check whether the IP address matches the location of the billing address. If they are from the same area, the orders can be deemed as legit. 

Read  Product Shipping: Tips to find the perfect delivery partner for online business

Avoiding Virtual Address 

One of the other common ways involving addresses is a virtual address. Virtual addresses are generally PO box addresses. It’s almost impossible to locate a customer based on the PO box address. Without any physical trace, taking legal action also becomes a long procedure. So retailers can introduce a policy to decline orders from virtual addresses. And in the case of physical addresses, the aforementioned anti-fraud measures can be applied to double-check. 

Checking the Platform Credibility

The credibility of a platform plays a huge role in whether an e-commerce platform can be trusted or not. Generally, customers get coerced with huge discounts and offers. This deters them from checking whether the platform is legit or not.

Checking past reviews and online ratings can be a good way to judge an e-commerce platform and retailers as well. A pro tip would be to take any too-good-to-be-true offers with a pinch of salt. 

Read:Best Business Ideas Amidst the Pandemic and New Normal

E-commerce Scams from The Perspective Of Bangladesh 

In most global fraud or scam cases, the customer is the accusatory end. E-commerce giants like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba regularly face issues regarding fraudulent customers. However, the situation in Bangladesh is much different from the rest of the world. 

Almost all of the e-commerce scams in Bangladesh are the direct result of the fraudulent activity of the platform itself. Here the customers and the retailers are the main victims. This raises huge regulatory issues regarding the business model created by the platforms.

There isn’t much that a customer can do in such instances. There aren’t any direct solutions as almost all such cases are under investigation. Customers can only take precautionary measures to make sure that their hard-earned money isn’t defrauded from them. 

Read:How to Test and Validate Your Startup Idea?

Final Thoughts 

Enforced lockdown and state of emergencies across the globe have shifted people's buying habits to online platforms. The development and popularization of the e-commerce platform have made life much easier. But it also paved the way for scammers and fraudsters. Be it the e-commerce platform, retailer, or the customer, no one is safe from them. The only probable solution to such issues is strong regulatory policies to sustain the interest of the customer. The policy regulation should be ensured side by side with e-commerce and retailers' protective measures.