While we would like to think that Santa Claus is impervious to the Omicron variant, it’s almost irrefutable that COVID-19 has dramatically impacted the way people shop.

A recent study revealed that since the pandemic first begun, 50% of people now prefer online to their in-store purchase counterparts (DataScienceCentral). Yes, it’s true, shoppers are more vulnerable than ever from the likes of opportunists and hackers. According to the FBI, the dramatic increase of online shopping has led to a 300% increase spike in cyberattacks since the start of the global pandemic (DataScienceCentral). How does it even happen?

More online purchases mean more information being entered electronically, online. Scammers that fumble upon information can then easily repurpose for their own monetary gain in the form of identity theft. There is an opportunity for business to facilitate solutions that can best combat this type of enemy.

Here are some ways that data has helped save Christmas, and the spirit of the Holiday season:

Do you ‘Know Your Customer’?

There are many benefits to having the data infrastructure to successfully “know your customer.” Understanding their buying habits and preferences often makes it easier to market and sell products because they even know they want it. That said, one of the unintended benefits of KYC is being able to figure out to optimize their data to instantaneously be able to detect unusual spending. KYC algorithms are equipped with features such as address verification, to more efficiently secure sensitive profile and customer information. Face verification, additionally, is becoming an increasingly popular tool to protect personal data.

There is no “I” in “TEAM”

Having the most innovative data protection software means nothing if you don’t have a team that is able to make the insights and activity actionable. It is for this reason that to best protect your customers, you must successfully train your employees. It’s essential that organizations operationally acknowledge and address the danger of crime. Training sessions are one good way to do this.

Transaction Monitorization

Hackers prey on banking transactions, especially over the holiday season. Having a data-driven transaction process — that has routinely logged the behavior of its users — to best protect them can make a huge difference in the outcome. The simplest and most impactful way to do this is to have data infrastructure that allows them to verify debit/credit card information and confirm the legitimate owner of the account.

For many, the Holiday Season is the best time of the year. It is coincidentally when scammers tend to wreak most of their havoc. Data and data infrastructure built to combat the threat of hackers can arguably be the single greatest gift of all.

While it’s somewhat a stretch to equate data analysts with the Knights of the Round Table, it is a fair assessment to state that a data infrastructure built to offset the impact of scammers makes a huge impact in the lives of its users.

The Systech Solutions, Inc. Blog Series is designed to showcase ongoing innovations in the data and analytics space. If you have any suggestions for an upcoming article, or would like to volunteer to be interviewed, please contact Olivia Klayman at oliviak@systechusa.com.