Why do payment systems devote a lot of time to security?

2017-04-24 00:00:00:

The ability to control the movement of funds attracts potential customers to use e-wallets. Registration of such storages is carried out in the corresponding payment systems. When creating a digital wallet, the user is required to come up with a login and a strong password to access the account. This data is a tasty morsel for online scammers.

The security of electronic money, to a greater extent, falls on the shoulders of the client of the resource. Carelessness in storing account access passwords and excessive trust in third-party services expose digital money in the users account to potential danger. Lets consider what schemes are used by cybercriminals to hack wallets.

Security from banks and payment systems

Financial institutions and electronic payment resources apply innovative methods to protect customer accounts and accounts. Public and private institutions, as well as the administration of payment services, are improving measures to improve the protection of money accounts. Fiat money, along with electronic currency, must meet a high level of security, because it is an object of profit for cybercriminals. Banking protection consists in confirming the authority to make purchases in a virtual network using a plastic card. Personal protection consists in applying:

CVV2, CVC2, CID codes on the back of a banking instrument.
3D-Secure technologies, Verified by Visa, MasterCard Secure Code.
In the absence of such codes and technologies, making payments for purchases in the virtual network will be impossible.

As for payment services, their protection is the most reliable. When authorizing, the user, in addition to the login / password pair, must enter a captcha, which excludes careless actions on the part of automatic robots. It is also up to the client to increase the security of electronic wallets of payment systems.

For example, when paying for purchases on the Internet, an SMS notification service is configured, the essence of which is to introduce a one-time cipher on the site. The code is sent to the linked mobile phone number of the user. In addition, some services use the E-Num authorization program, which is pre-installed on the clients cellular unit. This method is widely used on the WebMoney resource.

If the protection from financial institutions and payment services is so high, why are user accounts reset to zero? The client himself is the target of fraudulent activities. To bypass the security system of payment systems and companies, you need to be a very gifted programmer, which scammers are often not. Computer knowledge at the level of users and client psychology allows them to extract the most valuable information in the form of a login / password from a potential victim. Lets take a look at some of the most popular cybercriminal tricks that you shouldnt fall for.

Fraudulent methods of collecting valuable information

Fraudsters cannot compete with the protection of banks and payment systems, so their primary goal is obvious - the user. It is considered the easiest thing to extract confidential data from a potential victim. Ensuring security in payment systems consists in keeping information about real customers secret, as well as protecting digital wallets from unauthorized access. Therefore, in no case, and under any pretext, should you disclose logins, passwords, pin codes and other personal information to third parties. There are many schemes for deceiving users of the virtual web. Lets consider the most popular ones:

Phishing. The name of the scheme in English means "fishing". Some clients receive phishing messages by email or mobile phone. In this case, the security of electronic money is at risk. The letters are visually very similar to the official ones, which does not even arouse suspicion among the majority of users of banks or web services. In such letters, the scammers urge you to follow a specially created link and confirm your personal information. As you know, the link leads to a fake site, which remembers all the information entered and gains access to the victims money.
The domain name will help distinguish a real resource from a false analogue. Often, a false name is accompanied by duplicate letters in the site name. You need to be extremely careful when entering such information in order to increase the security of electronic wallets and the available currency. Phishing includes intimidating messages stating that an unauthorized access attempt was detected. The client is asked to confirm his own data without delay. "Rybalka" is constantly being improved, now malefactors are mastering social networks in which gullible young clients live.

Spam. Sending emails without subscribing to them is a form of phishing. In addition to the folders of incoming and outgoing messages, e-mail has a folder called "Spam", which often contains such suggestions. However, the increased curiosity of some users threatens the security of electronic payment systems. Newbies and teens can make a mistake and respond to a tempting email from an attacker. Most often, such messages offer easy money. Spyware is often attached to spam emails.
Message from West Africa. Emails from Nigeria are a favorite scam scheme. Such messages are designed to evoke pity from the potential victim. For example, a letter stating that a wealthy person asks the user to jointly participate in the extraction of diamonds at the place of residence of the messenger. 30% of the monthly profit is promised to the client as a reward. Attackers hope to gain access to the clients payment system wallet bypassing the systems security. The condition for participation in the project is the transfer of a set amount as a partners seat reservation.
Such offers are endless. For example, a client in a letter may learn about the untimely death of a relative with whom he has never met. A letter from the deceaseds family lawyer mentions the deceaseds fabulous legacy. Fraudsters are asking for confidential data, ostensibly to formalize an inheritance. Access to a digital or bank account is all the scammers need.

Bonuses from well-known companies. Ensuring security in payment systems and the lack of access to them pushes cybercriminals to create new clever ways to deceive customers. The method consists of sending tempting offers from branded companies. To become a member of the bonus, the user must enter personal data, as well as the number of a plastic card or digital wallet, to transfer the promised cash prize.
Naturally, no money will be sent. Often, on a valid account, a client may miss a certain amount or even lose it. And in this case, the responsibility for the security of electronic money falls on the shoulders of the user. Therefore, you need to be vigilant and extremely careful, as well as increase your own literacy in these matters.

Money laundering from digital wallets. The trick is to entice confidential data from a customer of an online store with a dubious reputation. If a prepayment is established for the purchase of goods or services, the scammers ask the victim to provide payment information, and then transfer the e-currency to their virtual wallet, bypassing the security of the service. If you doubt the honesty of the supplier, you must notify the support service of the payment resource.

Electronic wallet protection rules

To reliably protect your own virtual wallet, you need to follow some general protection rules. Before making a transition to the site of the payment system, you need to pay attention to the address bar of the browser. Protected sites are sites that support the https protocol.

Payment services that offer to use SMS notifications every time a transaction is executed are as reliable as possible. You can read about the security of electronic payment systems of interest on the global web. Some resources use one-time passwords when logging into an account, which are sent to the user on a mobile phone. Each time, upon authorization, the client will need to enter a new system-generated password. Linking the mobile unit to the site allows you to avoid spoofing the users cell number.

It must be remembered that neither the employees of the financial institution nor the administration of the payment service have the right to extract personal information from the client (login, password, PIN code). All confidential information must be stored in memory, at least on a flash drive. To improve the security of payment systems, antivirus software must be installed on the computer. The users personal data cannot be sent via social networks or e-mail. There is software that is able to intercept personal information.

If you configure your browser correctly, you dont have to worry about security when accessing a public network. The settings include protection against phishing, blocking pop-up windows and other features. It is also necessary to keep track of new information related to fraudulent schemes and subject it to careful analysis.

Security in payment systems is achieved through joint cooperation between users and service developers. The introduction of new technologies, innovative methods of protecting electronic wallets, along with the chastity of customers, will allow users to forget about cases of zeroing digital wallets.