Mobile Payment System (MPS) is a point-of-sale payment made through a existing mobile device, such as a cellular telephone, a smart phone, or a personal digital assistant (PDA). There is NO installation needed to start using this new attracting method of making payment. Payment transaction is as easy as sending an SMS. Using m-payment, a person with a wireless device could pay for items in a store or settle a bill without interacting with any staff member. Mobile payment can be used to purchase any number of digital or hard goods, such as Music, video, called ring-tones, games, wallpapers, books, magazines, tickets and so on. Now a day, mobile payments even can easily handling hotel and restaurant reservation.
Beneficial of M-payment: - User friendly - Convenient, any where, any time - handling in high speed - Save time & effort - Safe & secure - Avoid fraud problem - Reduce transportation problem The most famous mobile payment system in Malaysia is Mobile Money Wallet (MM Wallet). Mobile Money or MM Wallet is one of the online payments. MM Wallet is a new feature from Mobile Money that will turn your mobile phone into an electronic wallet. It brings you superior convenience that allows you to shop cash-free, making remote payment & send money with SMS.
Procedure by which an authoritative body gives formal recognition that a body or person is competent to carry out specific tasks.
Application of third party certification prgramme in Malaysia is Telekom Malaysia Berhad(TM), the country's leading provider of information and communication technologies, has become the first service provider in Malaysia and Southeast Asia to receive Malaysia is Telekom Malaysia Berhadthe Cisco® Quality of Service (QoS) Certification for its Multiservice Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IP VPN) service. This certification is designed to help businesses that are converging voice and data networks to evaluate providers of managed VPN services.
Part of the Cisco Powered Network Program, the IP VPN Multiservice QoS Certification verifies that TM is committed to meeting Cisco's best-practice criteria for the delivery of real-time voice and video services. The certification requires TM to undergo an annual third-party on-site assessment to validate that it follows best practices for delivering recommended levels of network performance (including latency, jitter and packet loss) and customer support. The certification also specifies that the service-level agreement must span the network from customer edge to customer edge in order to provide the end-to-end transparency and seamless management essential in a converged voice and data environment.
About TM
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), a leading regional information and communications group, offers a comprehensive range of communication services and solutions in fixed-line, mobile, data and broadband. As one of the largest listed companies in Bursa Malaysia with an operating revenue of more than RM13 billion, TM is driven to deliver value to its stakeholders in a highly competitive environment.
About Cisco Systems
Cisco, is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. Cisco products are supplied in Malaysia by Cisco Systems International, BV.
First, lets get to know what is personal and financial data;
Financial privacy
Information about a person's financial transactions, including the amount of assets, positions held in stocks or funds, outstanding debts, and purchases can be sensitive. If criminals gain access to informations such as a person's account or credit card numbers that person could become the victim of fraud or identity theft. Information about a person's purchases can reveal a great deal about that person's history, such as places they have visited, whom they have had contact with, products they use, their activities and habits, or medications they have used. In some cases corporations might wish to use this information to target individuals with marketing customized towards those individual's personal preferences, something which that person may or may not approve of.
Internet privacy
The ability to control what information one reveals about oneself over the Internet, and to control who can access that information, has become a growing concern. These concerns include whether email can be stored or read by third parties without consent, or whether third parties can track the web sites someone has visited. Another concern is whether web sites which are visited collect, store, and possibly share personally identifiable information about users.
To ensure that you don't fall prey to cyber fraud, here are few steps that can be taken;
1. Install a firewall. A firewall is a software program designed to allow good people in and keep bad people out. Most new computers come with firewalls integrated into their operating systems. Those who have a DSL or cable modem have an added layer of protection because these modems come with yet another firewall built in. If, however, you have an older computer or use dial up, you may need to buy a firewall separately and install it yourself.
2. Install and update antispyware and antivirus programs. Microsoft and numerous application vendors offer users regular updates to existing antispyware programs, so be on the lookout. As for antivirus protection, Symantec and Norton antivirus are popular choices. If you're looking to cut costs, Consumer Reports says Alwil Avast offers the best free virus protection available.Spyware protection software helps you to completely clean your computer of invasive threats. As a result, your computer will be clean and its performance will be better. Simply put, it will run a lot faster. Additionally, you will have protected your privacy - personal information, financial data, and your financial security will be protected. In the information age, where having just one piece of your personal information can ruin your life, protecting your personal privacy while online is of the utmost importance.
3. Avoid accessing financial information in public. Resist logging on to check your bank balance when working from a coffee shop that offers wireless access. These systems are convenient, but also unknown. Casual users have no way of assessing how sturdy their firewalls are.
4. Update your browser. Updating your browser on a regular basis can help plug up security holes, so make it a habit.
5. Look for "locks." How can you tell if your financial site is really secure before you log on? The Web address should start with "https," instead of "http," says Weston. Also, look for small lock icon in the lower-right corner of the browser window.
6.Don't open mystery attachments. Never open an attachment or click on a link sent to you by an unknown party. Attachments can contain viruses and links can lead unsuspecting users to dummy sites where they are asked to input financial information.
7. Manage your computer usage behavior. If you download most anything for free – movies, software, music, etc., then you can anticipate being exposed to highly aggressive forms of Spyware.
Definition: The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft.
Phishing is an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. [Definition by Wikipedia]
>>Examples:
(i)*PayPal*
The lack of a personal greeting, although the presence of personal details would not be a guarantee of legitimacy. Other signs that the message is a fraud are misspellings of simple words and the threat of consequences such as account suspension if the recipient fails to comply with the message's requests.
The lack of a personal greeting, although the presence of personal details would not be a guarantee of legitimacy. Other signs that the message is a fraud are misspellings of simple words and the threat of consequences such as account suspension if the recipient fails to comply with the message's requests.
(ii)*ebay*
Scammers phish on ebay to obtain eBay ID's which then are used to sell fake or non-existent goods or such accounts can be sold further in the underground market. In other words, the new owners of stolen eBay ID's now are equipped with positive feedback, previously generated by the real owner, and are now used to scam people.
>>Prevention Methods:
(i)Social responses
One strategy for combating phishing is to train people to recognize phishing attempts, and to deal with them. Education can be promising, especially where training provides direct feedback.
People can take steps to avoid phishing attempts by slightly modifying their browsing habits. When contacted about an account needing to be "verified" (or any other topic used by phishers), it is a sensible precaution to contact the company from which the e-mail apparently originates to check that the e-mail is legitimate.
Alternatively, the address that the individual knows is the company's genuine website can be typed into the address bar of the browser, rather than trusting any hyperlinks in the suspected phishing message.
(ii)Browsers alerting users to fraudulent websites
Another popular approach to fighting phishing is to maintain a list of known phishing sites and to check websites against the list. Microsoft's IE7 browser, Mozilla Firefox
To mitigate the problem of phishing sites impersonating a victim site by embedding its images (such as logos), several site owners have altered the images to send a message to the visitor that a site may be fraudulent. The image may be moved to a new filename and the original permanently replaced, or a server can detect that the image was not requested as part of normal browsing, and instead send a warning image2.0, and Opera all contain this type of anti-phishing measure.
(iii)Beware of pop-ups
Pop-ups in one of the way for online fraudsters to creep a spyware in your computer. They usually come up with a message indicating that your computer is infected by a spyware, and provide a link that will suppose to eliminate those spyware.
(iv)Adjust you browser settings to tighten up security
If you receive an email with a bad link in it, add the link to your 'Restricted Sites'. To do this go to Control Panel -> Internet Options -> Security. On the 'Security' tab go to 'Restricted Sites', move the slider to 'high' and remember to add blocked sites so the computer knows whom to trust. Do the same in your email client and firewall.
(v)Legal responses
Companies have also joined the effort to crack down on phishing. On March 31, 2005, Microsoft filed 117 federal lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The lawsuits accuse "John Doe" defendants of obtaining passwords and confidential information. March 2005 also saw a partnership between Microsoft and the Australian government teaching law enforcement officials how to combat various cyber crimes, including phishing.
As Internet users display more of their personal information on social networking Web sites, and office workers upload more sensitive data to online software programs, computer hackers are employing increasingly sophisticated methods to pry that information loose. In many cases, they are devising small attacks that can fly under the radar of traditional security software, while exploiting the trust users place in popular business and consumer Web sites.
With the use of Internet continues to expand and for the sake of convenience, more banks and thrifts are using the Web to conduct banking business and services. Like other growing countries, Malaysians, no doubt have taken into online banking system. However, how safe is our money from fraudsters, who are luring people to reveal their personal details using increasingly advanced scams and software? Each year, online banking customers are being defrauded of more than $25million. It often happened when victims, who have fallen to phishing scams, revealed that hoax emails are sent to their inboxes, convincing them as though they are from the organizations such as bank. These emails are designed to trick the unsuspecting consumers who then idly handed over their banking account numbers, passwords and PINS. Furthermore, sadly, customers are personally liable if they disclose their password or unreasonably delay reporting the fraud. In addition to the numbers of viruses unleashed each day to engulf public and organization who are relying on Internet, valuable and confidential data cannot be underestimated.
Nevertheless, online bankers don’t need to frown because as consumers rapidly took up Internet connection for their computers, banks have also upgraded their system and continuously implementing better security system that is able to look for fraud in real time and investigating technologies such as factor authentication. Two factors authentication is achieved when a keychain sized generator is attached and synched with the bank systems and this generator will generate ever changing code. The code is then purposed to be entered into the customer’s online banking login, combining with the existing passwords and this code is send to customers via SMS of mobile phone. In practice, only a small percentage of banks are using the two factor authentication due to inconvenience to customers and added costs to banks.
The law regulator and policies makers have also contribute their part to ensure online banking is safe for consumers. Most financial institutions are required by the law to abide in using 128-Bit SSL encryption. When one is doing online banking or purchasing over the web, one must ensure your information is being transferred securely. This can be done by checking whether the domain in front of the web address is displayed as https:// (Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer or HTTP over SSL). When the user is in such web page, it is hard for another party to steal valuable information from the webpage. In addition, one’s browser should also display a little lock image at the lower right hand corner of the page.
Being the consumer, one will also need to take precaution on their side. Consumers need to be alert that banks or financial institutions will not, via emails to enquire customers to enter security or financial details but through phone calls or letters. Most banks are targeted by such counterfeit website and cause millions of losses to both banks and public. Hence, if in doubt, a consumer should not hesitate to contact the subjected banks for confirmation. Online bankers also need to take heed and be responsible on the security of their personal computers and not being accessed by unauthorized users. Prevent from using public shared computers to carry out bank transactions, installing up-to-date anti-virus software and firewall and keeping pins and passwords information in safe place will also reduce the risk of data being exposed to hackers and theft. There is also news on hackers who successfully hacked into military system.
Cyber-shopping has also become increasingly popular in the local market. Although surfing Web and making for bargain in the comfort of your own home seem perfect, but one have to be cautious not to be exposed to threats to data and personal information theft.
This is especially the matter so when it comes to credit card payment for products offered for sale via the website. Although making credit card payments are no different from ordering on the phone, one still have to take safety measure to avoid identity theft and credit card fraud. Hence, online shoppers are advised to use a secure Web browser that encrypts confidential information. Moreover, one have to be conscious not to provide personal checking or savings account information to any online stores and avoid so-called “direct-withdrawals” from your accounts.
In contrast, online shoppers can be rest-assured to some extent on the issue of making credit card payments. For the reason being research has proved that online credit card transactions are as safe as face-to-face transactions. It is proven difficult to detect the exact number of sales and estimate credit card numbers because of its length. Credit card purchases are also well protected by special federal laws then merchandising with cash or check. Although cyber-shopping sounds scary but it actually gives the shopper a benefit which is the ability to check their account information from the comfort of one’s own home and identifying possibly fraudulent activities at anytime. Though using online services seems exposing us to vulnerable threats to the security of our data, there are still enough sophisticated software and safety measures that can be taken by online users to prevent data loss.
1-800 MUSIC NOW was a short-lived venture by MCI communication to open a music store operated through automated telephone prompts. It also introduced one of the first ever serious attempts at an e-commerce music store. The service was run out of MCI's Consumer Markets Headquarters offices in Arlington, Virginia (Pentagon City)
MCI communication’s 1-800 Music Now, which permitted both telephone and online ordering of CD’s, shut down in December 1996, only one year after it was launched. Below are the few factor that causes the failure;
- weakness in the music industry that year, leading to deep discounting by retailers
- the site was not easy to use, consumers seemed to prefer ordering through traditional stores
- its prices were relatively high, compared once again to traditional stores.
Dell is one of the world’s top providers of computer products and services such as servers, storage, workstations, notebook and notebooks computers, to businesses and consumers. The company has revenues of $38.2 billion worldwide and employs over 41,000 staff worldwide. Due to its efficient supply chain management, Dell is capable of shiping a PC within 24 hours of receiving an order. This introduction of the internet and e-commerce has helped Dell improve this efficiency and profitability.
Dell manufactures the products and then sells them directly to the customer, Dell creates disintermediation – the outside retailer is cut out of the process. This reduces time and costs in the process and also ensures Dell is better positioned to understand its customers’ needs directly Crucially, Dell’s supply chain costs are reduced on the storage side too by its efficient relationship between orders and production. Each individual PC that is ordered is only manufactured after the order is received and only using the freshest raw materials, which are delivered to the factory several times a day. This is known as just-in-time production or real-time production. There is no warehouse for either raw components or finished goods. Each computer has been paid for and has been built for a specific customer before it is shipped.
When internet technology arrived, Dell was quick to set up the e-commerce processes that would enable it to also sell directly online to customers. Selling online allows the whole process to be automated and more efficient.
Real time production ensures no costs are incurred from rising inventory stocks. Output is always driven by actual customer demand. Each individual product is created with the latest technology and each product is custom-made to exactly what the customer wants.
Dell is using automatic instructions that come up on screen. These allow consumer to customise the computer they wants with the features they needs. Dell also provides a variety of options on how to pay, either directly online or, via a customer service operator. There is even an automated leasing option available through a financing arrangement that Dell has here with Permanent TSB.
Consumer order is then passed automatically through to the production department at Dell's factory where it will be manufactured to their specification, tested and shipped out to them. Once manufactured, delivery typically takes few days. All of the systems relating to the sale are done through e-commerce: order placement, order tracking, payment processing, inspection, testing and delivery.
Similarly, internally at Dell, the whole purchase and procurement of materials is automated between Dell and its suppliers. At www.valuechain.dell.com , Dell shares information with its suppliers on a range of topics, including product quality and inventory.
The crucial benefit is the total automation of the whole process, which not only makes it faster and more efficient, but also much more cost effective, especially given the volume of business involved. Dell’s global website receives more than 1 billion page requests per quarter at 80 country sites in 28 languages and 26 currencies.
Dell’s approach to e-commerce simulates the benefits of face-to-face contact between the buyer and the seller. This ensures that staff can be focused on delivering the quality product and providing excellent customer service and support.
