This guide outlines the core principles of online payment security, the most common threats and appropriate safeguards to prevent fraudulent transactions.
Security remains a top priority for many consumers. According to a study conducted by Visa in Central and Eastern Europe, over 87% of online shoppers would switch to a different payment method if it offered improved security measures.
To stay compliant with payment security, merchants in the UK and EU, must protect their customers' personal and financial data to ensure a secure transaction process.
This guide outlines the core principles of online payment security, the most common threats and appropriate safeguards to prevent fraudulent transactions. It also offers practical advice to help merchants strengthen their defences and create a safe payment environment for their customers.
Online payments have faced a growing range of threats and advanced fraud tactics, such as phishing attempts, data breaches, and ransomware attacks.
This section outlines the most common threats that merchants should stay vigilant against.
Phishing scams are some of the most prevalent threats in online payments. They exploit human psychology to trick users into revealing sensitive information, such as credit and debit card information.
Phishers often impersonate trusted entities, such as employers or banks, to send deceptive emails or messages. These emails or messages often contain links to fake websites that closely resemble legitimate ones. Unsuspecting users may enter their login credentials or payment information, which can be used to conduct unauthorised transactions or commit identity theft.
Social engineering tactics can also include urgent messages that pressure users to act quickly or fear-based prompts that create panic.
Because phishing and social engineering attacks exploit human behaviour rather than system vulnerabilities, they remain highly effective and challenging to eliminate.
Data breaches occur when cybercriminals gain unauthorised access to an organisation's systems and users' data. The stolen information is often sold on the dark web or used for fraudulent transactions.
Data breaches can arise from several factors, such as hacking, weak internal security protocols, unpatched software vulnerabilities, and sometimes human error.
Because data breaches expose sensitive data and payment information, they are subject to strict industry regulations. Businesses may face penalties, legal liabilities, and increased operational costs to investigate and remediate data breaches.
MitM attacks occur when a hacker intercepts communication between a customer and a web application or payment system. Often, neither party is aware of the attack until sensitive data has already been stolen. The hacker impersonates both sides to listen in on conversations and steal sensitive information like login credentials, which could subsequently be used for unauthorised purchases or identity theft.MitM attacks frequently target unsecured networks, hijack email accounts or exploit vulnerabilities in network security protocols.
Card-not-present (CNP) fraud is a type of payment fraud that targets transactions made without the physical card. These transactions include online purchases, orders placed over the phone, and payments sent through the mail or other remote channels.
Fraudsters can use stolen card information, such as the card verification value, card number, and expiration date, to make unauthorised purchases.
Because there is no physical verification of the card or of the cardholder, CNP fraud is particularly difficult to detect and prevent.
A malware attack is a type of cyberattack in which malicious software infiltrates a system to cause damage or gain unauthorised access to sensitive data. Malware can enter a system through several methods, such as clicking on malicious links or downloading infected files.
Ransomware is a specific form of malware that encrypts a user’s files and demands payment for their decryption. Typically, ransomware attackers use symmetric encryption to lock the victim’s data and subsequently secure the symmetric key with their own public key via asymmetric encryption. In exchange for payment, victims typically receive a decryption key or tool that allows them to unlock their encrypted files.
