2020 October 29 Archive - EXEIdeas – Let's Your Mind Rock

In many cases, even routine transactions require you to obtain sensitive information about your customers. For instance, you may need to know a consumer’s name, email address and credit card number to hold an item or complete a sale. As this data could be used to steal a person’s identity or commit other types of fraud, it’s important that your organization is constantly improving its data management protocols.Make Sure Everything Is Stored Digitally:If your company uses paper invoices or otherwise keeps physical copies of important documents, it might be a good idea to scan them into a secure computer system. This ensures that you don’t lose important customer records because of a natural disaster or because you put a form in the wrong pile of documents. It is important that any customer information that is stored digitally is protected by a password or other security measures.Encrypt Customer Data Whenever Possible:As a general rule, credit card companies such as Visa or Mastercard require that retailers encrypt customer data each time a transaction is processed. However, credit card numbers, email addresses, and other information may remain on your company’s servers long after a purchase is complete. If a data breach occurs, any data that isn’t protected will likely fall into the hands of someone who will likely use it for nefarious purposes.Always Be On The Lookout For Security Flaws:The best way to avoid a data breach or is to actively search for vulnerabilities in your system. For instance, you could test to see if there are any loopholes through which someone looking at your system could access, view, or edit a customer’s personal information. You could also run tests to ensure that server restore points are being generated as expected.Implement Various Ways to Verify a Customer’s Identity:Security questions, passwords, and name matching tools are all things that you can use to protect customers from being victims of identity theft. It can also be a good idea to decline or put a hold on suspicious transactions until you are able to make contact with a customer.A single data breach could put your company out of business in a matter of days. Even if your company has never had customer data lost or stolen, consumers may not feel comfortable doing business with an organization that doesn’t manage data properly. Therefore, it is important to spend time and money today developing a system that could prevent a major hassle in the future.About the Author:Anica Oaks is a freelance writer who hails from San Francisco. When she’s not writing, she’s enjoying her time outside with her dogs. Anica recommends name matching tools for your needs.Find Me On Twitter