Just as a consumer needs to be wary of identity theft and online scams, an online merchant needs to protect his digital downloads shopping cart from dishonest consumers. Those considering entering the online marketplace seldom contemplate the liabilities of the enterprise. A wise businessperson considers the dark side and takes steps to mitigate problems.

Digital downloads are particularly susceptible to fraud. Merchants need to consider the problems of unauthorized transactions and the problematic authorized transactions, which are carried out by legitimate cardholders who perpetrate “friendly fraud.” They issue a chargeback once they have received their download claiming that they never got it. Smart merchants have safeguards in place to prevent that.

You may be wondering whether the problem is really that big. In 2009, LexisNexis found that retailers lost more than $130 billion to fraud. At that time, more than one-third of the fraud losses experienced by online merchants was from friendly fraud. One year later, the report found that friendly fraud was down to one-fifth of the overall amount of loss to fraud. Small enterprises fared better than large companies. CyberSource’s 2012 report reveals, however, that although friendly fraud has decreased, “clean” fraud is increasing. CyberSource found that 60 percent of merchants believe that fraud increased within the last two years.

Selling digital downloads is a booming business. But online criminals look for vulnerable victims. Make sure your business is protected. Select a shopping cart provider that will help you keep criminals at bay. Use well-established e-commerce companies like PayLoadz.com to process transactions to provide you with added security. PayLoadz.com, with its years of doing business online, learned to process payment transactions and provide digital delivery using the most secure means possible.

It’s a good idea to keep abreast of the latest news concerning fraud and threats to your business. You can do this by subscribing to one of the many newsletters available online for e-commerce. You can also check out reports from LexisNexis and CyberSource to stay informed. Part of protecting your business is knowing what threats are out there.

Most consumers are honest. But some look for ways to get something for nothing or to make money off someone else’s work. Brick-and-mortar enterprises expect a certain amount of inventory to disappear from theft. As a result, they often set up tight security measures to lower losses. Sellers of digital downloads need to be just as conscientious in their acquisition and implementation of security measures. You want your business to thrive, so be sure to get adequate protection for your digital downloads shopping cart.

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