After many, many news stories over the past couple of years detailing extensive fraud, hacking, and data breaches across various countries and sectors, more and more businesses large and small are ramping up their efforts to combat fraud.

Where does your business lie in these efforts? Have you upped your efforts to try and not only detect but to deflect and actively combat fraudulent activity from outside sources as well as inside ones? If not, you should be. 

No matter if you have a very small retail business, or are in charge of a large corporation, you should be doing everything you can to safeguard your livelihood and that of your employees (and clients/customers) by implementing practices, procedures and protocols to prevent fraud. Below, we’ve listed three types of software that are essential to safeguard your business from fraud, no matter what type of industry you’re in. 

Secure Web Hosting/Domain Protection

There are so many types of web hosting and domain names out there for purchase, but not all of them are created equal. Before forking over your bucks to secure one of these domain names, or paying someone to host your site (or both), vet the companies associated very carefully to make sure they are legit. Hackers are notorious for stealing web domains right out from under hard-working businesses, then selling them at auction in plain sight. You might wake up one day and find out that your website is now “owned” by someone else, who had no idea they were buying a stolen domain. This can cost you thousands and thousands of dollars in legal fees, and no guarantee that you’ll get your site back.

Avoid this by carefully vetting any domain name you purchase and making absolutely sure that your web host is 100% on top of security. Paying a monthly fee to ensure that your website is always protected is definitely worth it. 

Analytics

Fraud can be an easy thing to miss, believe it or not. If you run a fairly large business, sometimes the numbers can run together and you may not always notice a trend that seems suspect until it’s too late. 

This is why link analysis for fraud detection, software that analyzes data and specifically looks for fraudulent behavior, is such a good idea. There’s always room for error when human eyes are looking for a needle in a haystack - it’s easy to miss fraudulent activity. But analytics software can detect fraud quickly and easily, pinpointing fraud through huge amounts of data, highlighting everything from credit card fraud to data breaches, phishing, hacking and more. You’ll be more on top of your business than ever before, always informed. 

Safe, Secure POS

For a retail venture, especially one that primarily sells online, you need a point-of-sale (or POS) software that is safe and secure, preferably one that has built-in safeguards against hacking, credit card fraud, and more. 

Over the years, many POS systems have cropped up that have easy to use interfaces, multiple features (such as analytics, in-site discounts and incentives, marketing tools, and more) that have safety measures built right in. Sites like Shopify and others can detect abnormalities with credit card info, addresses, email addresses and more, and will alert you every time you receive an order or a payment that seems suspect. This will equip you with the ability to decide in real-time whether an order is legit or not. 

These three types of software are must-haves for any businessperson, especially those with an online business, to avoid phishing, hacking, theft, and fraud. With just a few affordable and easy-to-use tools, you’ll be able to weed out fraud from the ground up.