It’s a nightmare for a business of any size: Your server is hacked, and hundreds of customer accounts are compromised. Even if you catch the problem in time and no one loses any money, you’ll have lost time, money and customer trust in the process.

As an online merchant, it’s your responsibility to help protect your customers from online fraud and scams. In fact, if you do not offer protection and assurance that customer data is secure, you might lose potential business, as customers will seek out vendors who will protect their sensitive data.

So, what can you do? There are some simple steps you can take to keep everything safe from cybercriminals.

Limit the Amount of Data You Collect

While you need to know your customers’ names, addresses and financial information in order to fulfill orders and print online shipping labels, in most cases you do not need to collect personal details such as birthdates or Social Security numbers. Take only what you need to successfully complete the transaction.

Take Steps to Authenticate Accounts and Users

Authentication protects both you and your customer. When someone places an order or creates an account, confirm that action; most e-commerce platforms offer the ability to easily and automatically do this. If someone places a large order, pick up the phone and call them to confirm.

Allow the Option to Use PayPal

While PayPal fees may cut into your profits, many customers prefer to use PayPal because they do not have to expose their credit card information to entities they are not entirely familiar with.

Have Password Protocols

When new customers create an account, establish parameters for their passwords that will protect the account. For example, require that passwords contain both letters and numbers, or that they must include capital and lowercase letters.

Use Secure Encryption

When online shoppers are considering whether to make a purchase, they are looking at whether your site is safe and secure. If you can’t guarantee that their information will be protected, they will shop elsewhere. Use a shopping cart or e-commerce provider that specifically outlines the security protocols used to protect customer data; at minimum, it should provide SSL or SSH encryption for transporting information. Also consider using a payment system that requires users to match their name, billing address and the validation code from their card before the transaction can go through.

Give an Alternative Means of Ordering

Some people simply aren’t comfortable using their cards online, given the chance of a security breach. Include a toll-free number for ordering or payment, so customers can call to provide their information more securely.

Monitor Your Online Presence

As criminals become more sophisticated, it’s easier than ever for them to create phishing sites that mimic yours for the purpose of stealing customer data. Regularly monitor your online reputation to make sure that no one is using your name and establish a clear policy to inform your customers about the information you will collect in the course of a standard transaction. Tell your customers that you will never request their passwords or login information via email and that all correspondence will come from a particular email address. Give your customers the tools they need to spot a scam before it happens.

Treat Customer Data the Way You Would Want Yours Treated

Would you want a vendor to leave out reports containing your name, address and credit card number where anyone could access it? Don’t do that to your customers. If you have printed copies of anything that contains sensitive customer data, keep it under lock and key and shred the printed copies when you no longer need them. Use password protection for customer databases and employ a reputable customer relationship management vendor for handling email campaigns, auto responders and other outreach to prevent data from being compromised.

Running a successful online business isn’t strictly about offering products or services that customers want at fair prices. It’s also important to protect data and information, preventing customers from losing their hard-earned money. Implementing these security protocols will take a bit of time and money, but the rewards are worthwhile in the long run.

About the Author:  
Jane Van Allen owns and operates an online gift business, selling via her own site and several major retailers. She also teaches several online courses in e-business, which include information about preventing scams on online shipping.