How_to_Protect_Your_Online_Store_from_the_Internet_Burglars_Part_1

How to Protect Your Online Store from the Internet Burglars, Part 1 The theft of credit card numbers is enormous. It is estimated that as many as 40% of all online transactions are bogus. This article is normally an electronic booklet sold on my site, but I decided its content was too important to not share with you. How To Protect Your Online Store from the Internet Burgulars by Lynne Schlumpf, CEO Copyright 2000 Route 66 Cyber Cafe, Inc. One of the worst things that can ever happen to an online store on the Internet is lurking at every storefront out there. The Internet burgulars, as I like to call them, are waiting for you to let your guard down just for one second while you're processing their credit card number. It is at that point that you may as well just walk out in the middle of the street and throw every bit of money in your wallet and pockets at the next car that goes speeding by. Or better yet, whatever merchandise it is that you are selling online, just go throw about 40% of your inventory into the streets to let others come and pick it up. This sounds like a ridiculous analogy, I know, but it illustrates how much they can hurt you. That estimate is not overstated.It is estimated that this could be the percentage of lost sales to fraud on the Net. They think they're crafty, and they're costing people their hard-earned savings, the business they worked so hard to create, and they don't care. All they care about is fast merchandise of the right kind to offload and sell on the streets, or whatever it is that these crooks do with it. You will find some of the stories I am going to tell you not only funny but ridiculous. I am not making light of a serious subject, believe me! This subject has obviously become a sort of a quest for me. I want to stop them, and I want you to help me. I don't want to see you give away even one cent to these people. Your business does not deserve the thievery that abounds. I am not saying that this type of practice did not exist before the Internet became a household word. It was happening EVERYWHERE! I used to have a friend who was a manager for a COMPUSA store. This was a very large store with thousands of orders a day, but this guy knew what he was doing. He did not lose anything to these people. He taught me many of the things I am going to pass on to you. I remember being in his office one day, and the phone rang. Some women was screaming so loud at him, I could hear her across the room. She was yelling that she was supposed to have her laptop delivered by next day mail, and it had not arrived yet. I thought, boy, they must've really messed up her order or something. He politely told her he would check up on it, and he hung up. It was at this point my eye-opening began. He taught me that if a customer is irate and wants quick shipment to places like New York City, Detroit, Chicago, and they put the whole thing on a credit card (about $3,500 worth), it's STOLEN. I'm not picking any city in particular - these come to mind as the ones he mentioned. Two elements of the sale bothered him. 1. The amount was high (over 500.00) 2. The need for urgent shipment was weird. Thanks for joining me. After you finish this report, you'll be amazed at how simple it is to keep from getting ripped off. I hope this will be a fun but informative adventure for you. I will start by showing you a day in the life of two Internet store owners. One is very naive (as we were in the beginning), and the other is a seasoned player in this dangerous game of taking credit cards over the Internet. Don't get me wrong, though. I don't disapprove of taking credit cards on the Internet, and I don't think anyone should stop taking them. If your company can take losing up to 40% of its merchandise to thieves, don't read the rest of this booklet! What our company actually did was to stop selling computer equipment on the Internet altogether. This was one among many reasons. When I return in Part 2, I’ll show you a scenario of two Internet store owners, and I’ll discuss how they handle online ordering. About the author: Lynne Schlumpf is the CEO of Route 66 Cyber Cafe, Inc., http://www.r66cci.com, a Web hosting and design company specializing in promoting websites for new owners, building affordable e-commerce sites, and providing reliable web hosting solutions as an affiliate of Virtualis Incorporated.