The Contactless Payment Realm: Payment Frauds Post COVID-19
It is quite evident that the COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented impact in the world on a lot of aspects. Especially, majority of economical activities have slowed down, thereby leaving all businesses in a grave state of loss and suffering. With social distancing becoming the new normal in the current COVID-19 situation, consumers are left with no option other than opting for contactless and digital models of payments. But with everyone deploying diverse mediums for payment, the most imperative question of the safety and security of digital payments comes into picture. With the rapid increase in use of digital payments, the fear of digital payment frauds has also increased substantially due to many fraudsters and hackers transpiring across the world.
Amidst the swarm of frauds, swindles and scams that transpired post the outbreak of COVID-19, payment channels have witnessed the biggest of all! The bitter truth is that the rate of payment frauds was quite horrific even before the advent of the pandemic. In a span of just 92 days during the end of last year, a whopping Rs.128 crore was lost due to scandals in debit cards, credit cards and net banking, besides large chunks of payment data being stolen. In addition, it was recently brought to light that almost half of Indian consumers are worried about frauds across the digital payment channels now as compared to when COVID-19 came into existence.
Some of these frauds entail fake apps and websites, compromised password/credential information, spyware/malware, card cloning, e-Commerce or mobile channel frauds, and many others. A seamless occurrence of these advanced and complex breaches has triggered not only the consumers to stay abreast and alert, but also various businesses to unveil secure payment infrastructures and comply with strict anti-fraud and security measures.
On the other hand, the proliferation in newfangled technologies, software and payment channels & modes has rekindled the cybercriminals to come-up with efficient criminal ideas and avenues to steal payment data of consumers. These avenues range from the simple adoption of a new technology to complex engineering tactics that can ease the execution of their frauds. Yet, on the bright side, the industry is relishing tremendous growth YoY and businesses are being endowed with ample potential opportunities, thus giving a new dimension to the contactless revolution of digital payments. For instance, the tap and go payments across COTS smartphones and tablets are deployed by companies to process the payments of consumers.
Well, as discussed earlier, secure payment infrastructures are the dire need of the hour for businesses to safeguard payment data of consumers and also stay ahead of the burgeoning competition. Adhering to requisite security frameworks stands mandatory for these businesses, for instance, the PCI Contactless Payments on COTS Standard, NPCI’s Security Framework with Protect, Detect, Respond, Predict and Recover Methodology, RBI’s CSITE Framework, and many others. These standards indeed enable vendors to offer contactless payment methods to businesses, secure the cardholder’s personal data, and at times also substitute this data with tokenized and non-sensitive data.
This way, businesses strive to not offer even the slightest chance for cybercriminals to take hold of the consumers’ data, while they consistently devise new, affordable and safe contactless payment options. It is essential not only for the payments ecosystem but also the entire economy to develop as a whole and create a post COVID-19 future. Some of the best ways to achieve this mission are by leveraging digital options, financial inclusion, reliable digital currencies, building omnichannel payment solutions, establishing touchless payments, offering more for digital wallets, payments as serve partnerships with banks, and many others. But when faced with frauds and scams, it is important to undertake root cause investigation, proactive reviews, diagnostic risk reviews on adherence to the defined ABC framework, root cause investigation of cyber incidents, awareness sessions, due diligence of new business partners, and other measures.
There are few other tips for businesses to avoid COVID-19 scams such as not responding to calls or texts from unknown numbers or any other suspicious people, never share their personal or financial information via email, text messages or over the phone, and stay cautious if they’re being pressurized to share any information or make a payment immediately. Besides, they ought to remember that government agencies will never call them to ask for personal information or money, not to click any suspicious links in a text message, and always check on a charity before donating, for example by referring or calling their actual website.
With the rise in usage of smartphones and internet across the world, contactless payment market is making great strides and is expected to reach phenomenal heights in the coming years. In a nutshell, the new wave of contactless payments with extended security measures has hit majority of the businesses worldwide, thereby letting them augment their operational flexibility, customer services & support, and most importantly, enhance their RoI.
Amidst the swarm of frauds, swindles and scams that transpired post the outbreak of COVID-19, payment channels have witnessed the biggest of all! The bitter truth is that the rate of payment frauds was quite horrific even before the advent of the pandemic. In a span of just 92 days during the end of last year, a whopping Rs.128 crore was lost due to scandals in debit cards, credit cards and net banking, besides large chunks of payment data being stolen. In addition, it was recently brought to light that almost half of Indian consumers are worried about frauds across the digital payment channels now as compared to when COVID-19 came into existence.
A seamless occurrence of advanced and complex breaches has triggered not only the consumers to stay abreast and alert, but also various businesses to unveil secure payment infrastructures and comply with strict anti-fraud and security measures
Some of these frauds entail fake apps and websites, compromised password/credential information, spyware/malware, card cloning, e-Commerce or mobile channel frauds, and many others. A seamless occurrence of these advanced and complex breaches has triggered not only the consumers to stay abreast and alert, but also various businesses to unveil secure payment infrastructures and comply with strict anti-fraud and security measures.
On the other hand, the proliferation in newfangled technologies, software and payment channels & modes has rekindled the cybercriminals to come-up with efficient criminal ideas and avenues to steal payment data of consumers. These avenues range from the simple adoption of a new technology to complex engineering tactics that can ease the execution of their frauds. Yet, on the bright side, the industry is relishing tremendous growth YoY and businesses are being endowed with ample potential opportunities, thus giving a new dimension to the contactless revolution of digital payments. For instance, the tap and go payments across COTS smartphones and tablets are deployed by companies to process the payments of consumers.
Well, as discussed earlier, secure payment infrastructures are the dire need of the hour for businesses to safeguard payment data of consumers and also stay ahead of the burgeoning competition. Adhering to requisite security frameworks stands mandatory for these businesses, for instance, the PCI Contactless Payments on COTS Standard, NPCI’s Security Framework with Protect, Detect, Respond, Predict and Recover Methodology, RBI’s CSITE Framework, and many others. These standards indeed enable vendors to offer contactless payment methods to businesses, secure the cardholder’s personal data, and at times also substitute this data with tokenized and non-sensitive data.
This way, businesses strive to not offer even the slightest chance for cybercriminals to take hold of the consumers’ data, while they consistently devise new, affordable and safe contactless payment options. It is essential not only for the payments ecosystem but also the entire economy to develop as a whole and create a post COVID-19 future. Some of the best ways to achieve this mission are by leveraging digital options, financial inclusion, reliable digital currencies, building omnichannel payment solutions, establishing touchless payments, offering more for digital wallets, payments as serve partnerships with banks, and many others. But when faced with frauds and scams, it is important to undertake root cause investigation, proactive reviews, diagnostic risk reviews on adherence to the defined ABC framework, root cause investigation of cyber incidents, awareness sessions, due diligence of new business partners, and other measures.
There are few other tips for businesses to avoid COVID-19 scams such as not responding to calls or texts from unknown numbers or any other suspicious people, never share their personal or financial information via email, text messages or over the phone, and stay cautious if they’re being pressurized to share any information or make a payment immediately. Besides, they ought to remember that government agencies will never call them to ask for personal information or money, not to click any suspicious links in a text message, and always check on a charity before donating, for example by referring or calling their actual website.
With the rise in usage of smartphones and internet across the world, contactless payment market is making great strides and is expected to reach phenomenal heights in the coming years. In a nutshell, the new wave of contactless payments with extended security measures has hit majority of the businesses worldwide, thereby letting them augment their operational flexibility, customer services & support, and most importantly, enhance their RoI.
