In the digital age, ecommerce has become a popular trading channel in Thailand, encompassing the buying and selling of products electronically, transactions made via applications, and the use of social media platforms. Amidst the abundance of commercial opportunities and large numbers of orders, the risk of online fraud arises, coming in many forms, including personal information theft and website phishing. Customers must be aware of these scams on shopping sites, while entrepreneurs need to have a clear understanding and safeguards in place to protect their systems from possible intrusion.

This article will guide you through best practices for ecommerce security, help you identify common illicit patterns, and explain how antifraud technologies and measures, such as Stripe Radar, can effectively detect and block threats on shopping platforms, allowing you to run your online business with greater confidence and protection.

What’s in this article?

• Guidelines for preventing ecommerce fraud
  
• What are the types of ecommerce fraud in Thailand?
  
• Security measures for ecommerce systems
  
• Stripe Radar, a key tool in preventing financial fraud
  
• Understanding ecommerce fraud and how to prevent it
  

Guidelines for preventing ecommerce fraud

The growth of ecommerce in Thailand has made it easier for customers to access a broader range of goods and services. However, at the same time, this has also opened the opportunities for fraudsters to use various forms of deceit to trick shoppers. For example, tricking someone into transferring money for a job that does not exist or falsifying payments by sending fake transfer slips. Without sufficient knowledge and preventive steps, these actions can cause serious asset losses and significantly damage the income, operations, and reputation of entrepreneurs.

The best defense against fraud is maintaining careful shopping habits and staying alert of potential schemes. Keeping current on ecommerce threats is one of the most important mechanisms for reducing the risk of becoming a victim. Businesses need to train staff to recognize and block digital deception and have a plan in place for breaches or leaks. Implementing protective tools, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), multifactor authentication (MFA), or Stripe Radar, can pinpoint and identify fraudulent behavior in real time, thus stopping incidents before they hit your operation.

What are the types of ecommerce fraud in Thailand?

Typical deceptive tactics found in ecommerce systems in Thailand, both from the shopper and business perspectives, are as follows:

For shoppers

• Fake social media scams: Reviews are used from fabricated accounts to boost credibility for fake shops and products. As an example, durian scams involve sellers claiming to be orchard owners. Carefully check the profile name or payment method to avoid falling for these tricks.
  
• Fake or low-quality products: Sellers claim that products are authentic or of high quality, but they are counterfeit, substandard, or do not exist. Buyers transfer funds yet receive nothing—or receive goods that fail to match the description.
  
• Hacking: Hackers or malicious individuals deploy bogus or phishing websites to steal credit card details or personal information.
  
• Dream-selling scammers: These people spin convincing stories to manipulate victims into handing over money in pursuit of a promised outcome. They might claim a child has landed a modeling or advertising opportunity—if the parent pays an upfront fee. Others offer sham jobs that demand payment before hiring or pretend to fall in love to extract funds. These ploys exploit emotions and ambition, always demanding remittance in return for false promises of hope and opportunity. Never transfer money upfront—whether to secure a job or to get hired.
  
• Fake websites/applications: Scammers build pages or applications that mimic legitimate ones to trick users into filling in details or making payments through fake channels. Card information is stolen and used for fraud. Avoid clicking on links from unknown sources and check the credibility of the website or app before paying. Secure sites typically display “https” in the beginning of the address bar.
  
• Call center gangs: Callers posing as bank officers or offering emergency help or special deals ask victims to disclose card information. Sometimes they can entice them with prizes or reward points. If the holder complies, financial loss can follow.
  

For entrepreneurs

• Impersonation of a store or celebrity: Scammers often pose as a shop, brand, or celebrity by creating fake pages to deceive customers. Stores must display the correct account name for receiving payments and ensure its accuracy. If impersonation occurs, the affected party must issue a public announcement to inform and protect shoppers.
  
• Refund/return fraud: Buyers can claim problems with an item and seek a refund, then send back a counterfeit product instead, or say they never received it although they did.
  
• Falsifying payments: Customers can submit forged transfer confirmations to indicate that a payment has been made falsely.
  
• Unauthorized purchases: Someone close—family, relative, or employee—uses a stolen credit card to purchase goods or services without the owner’s permission; later the card owner can cancel or ask for a refund.
  
• Abuse of promotions: Repeatedly signing up new shoppers to grab special discounts or refusing to pay can cause hidden costs for the business over time.
  
• Computer system attacks: Hackers break into a shop’s infrastructure, steal customer account details, or change account information to withdraw money, potentially making the business liable for breaches.
  
• Employee fraud: Store employees can misuse card details, sell customer information to criminals, or engage in counterfeiting. Provide training, emphasize card safety, and implement legal penalties for fraud.
  

Security measures for ecommerce systems

While scammers are constantly coming up with new ruses, businesses and buyers can take comfort that ecommerce transactions in Thailand follow several recognized security standards:

• Preventing chargeback fraud: To reduce the risk of chargeback fraud and using fake information online, businesses must keep receipts and customer signatures or electronic records, and implement security measures. These include a KYC (Know Your Customer) system to verify a buyer’s identity—such as checking an ID card or related documents—or requiring verification through a one-time password (OTP).
  
• Encryption: This process converts readable content to an unreadable format. Encryption enables highly secure data transmission between the sender and recipient, thereby reducing the threat of fraud or theft.
  
• MFA: Multifactor authentication is a safeguard in payment technologies that protects against unauthorized entry. Multiple sources of proof are required to authenticate before access to a transaction is granted—for instance a password coupled with mobile phone verification or biometrics.
  
• Use of security protocols: Employing Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (S-HTTP) helps create a safe communication channel between user and server.
  
• Use of security systems: Installing firewalls and proxy servers helps block unauthorized entry and filters potentially harmful content.
  
• PCI DSS: This international standard is designed to protect card details and related transactions, specifically through data encryption, access restrictions, and security assessments and penetration testing.
  
• Risky transaction review system: This is a process that assesses, analyzes, and monitors suspicious activity. When the tool detects suspicious activity, it immediately alerts you to anomalies—such as unusually large amounts, irregular frequency, or user details that don’t match your typical usage patterns.
  

Stripe Radar, a key tool in preventing financial fraud

Stripe Radar detects and blocks fraudulent activity using real-time machine learning, boosting operational efficiency and bolstering protection. Radar draws on global fraud statistics, analyzing data from millions of businesses and orders each year. It utilizes this insight to assess the threat level of every payment and generate a score, helping you easily differentiate between fraudsters and genuine customers.

Radar’s algorithms quickly learn, adapt, and evolve to address constantly changing deception patterns, supporting a working model that’s tailored to your operation. 3D Secure automatically screens and blocks high-risk transactions, detecting and preventing fraud before it affects you.

Understanding ecommerce fraud and how to prevent it

Amidst the growth of Thai ecommerce in the digital age, various online scams have also evolved alongside it. Therefore, understanding safe online shop practices, being mindful and aware of common deceptive tactics, and deploying appropriate security technology measures, which can analyze high-risk payment behaviors and automatically screen and prevent fraud, are all key factors that build confidence in both shoppers and entrepreneurs, fostering a secure and sustainable ecommerce environment in Thailand in the long run.