Nowadays, business is dominated by e-commerce and purchasing habits are trending more towards digital platforms. As per the 2018 report, a total of $423 million was lost in wire transfer scams. In 2020 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 2.2 million reports regarding fraud. This shows that the online crime trends will only continue to grow, corroborated by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. More than ever, online vendors must be prepared against fraud and scams as they conduct their business.
Online sellers must be careful when interacting with different suppliers overseas. A global e-commerce forecast reported that after an increase of almost 25% in cross-border e-commerce buyers in China in 2020, Asia-Pacific leads the regional rankings for retail e-commerce sales. Today’s scam artists are so successful online, as the consumers interacts with strangers often. In order to be safe in this fraud, the sellers must be vigilant when engaging with new suppliers and also be aware of suspicious behavior when completing transactions.
Easy way to verify a supplier’s identity is to contact them via their listed phone number. If their site does not have any basic contact information, then this is a red flag. Anti-money laundering policies for online suppliers should reflect processes. Verification at both ends of the supply chain is essential. Identity checks and verification processes should be expected of any online vendor. One perk of the online world of commerce is its speed. Payments partners should serve as a guide throughout the international payments process. Businesses should not, live in fear of losing valuable resources to digital fraud and should instead profit from the globalized marketplace of suppliers.
