Fraud Prevention Month activities highlight importance of data security for small businesses in Canada

TORONTO, Feb. 27 /CNW/ - A survey of Canadian small businesses released today by Visa reveals that 41 per cent of respondents believe that 'data thieves and hackers' are not interested in targeting their businesses because of their size.  

As part of its annual Fraud Prevention Month activities, Visa is hosting free fraud prevention seminars in Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Calgary that will emphasize the importance of data security for small businesses.

"Regardless of the size of the enterprise, it's important for business owners to appreciate the importance of data security and what steps they should take to protect their customers and business," says Gord Jamieson, Head of Payment System Risk, Visa Canada. "The information sessions will provide a great deal of information and an opportunity for small business owners and managers to ask questions."

The Ipsos Reid survey, which was commissioned by Visa Canada, surveyed 885 small business owners about their data storage and security practices.

39% of respondents describe securing customer information as a vital part of their business and 94% believe that securing data is important to their customers. Of the 60 per cent of respondents that do keep electronic files with customer information, 86 per cent noted that they either encrypt the data (8%), ensure that it is password protected (39%) or ensure that the information is both encrypted and password protected (39%).

While the majority of respondents claim to appreciate the importance of data security to their business and customers, more than half (52%) have never sought information about how to properly secure electronic information and 24 per cent do not know where to get information about how to better secure information for their business.

"Preventing fraud is a shared responsibility," says Jamieson. "By offering information to small businesses during Fraud Prevention Month, we can help them better protect themselves against data thieves."

The Visa Canada workshops will help educate small businesses about how to better protect themselves from fraudsters. Sessions will include information on how to properly process a credit card transaction, tips on how to protect credit card information and to ensure that their payment application is secure, chip and PIN technology, and an overview of the Visa Account

Information program. More information and free registration is available online at www.visa.ca/fpm. In addition, through its participation in the Fraud Prevention Forum, Visa works closely with government and law enforcement to provide educational materials to all Canadians to help them "recognize, report and stop" fraud. Educational materials for consumers and merchants on fraud prevention can be found on www.visa.ca/securewithvisa.

About the Survey

The online survey was conducted between February 2 and 9, 2009, by Ipsos Reid. A total of 885 small and medium sized business owners who employ 1-250 employees and accept credit or debit cards were surveyed. An unweighted probability sample of this size, with 100 per cent response rate, would have an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Margin of error for subgroups will be larger.

About Visa

Visa Inc. operates the world's largest retail electronic payments network providing processing services and payment product platforms. This includes consumer credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, which are offered
under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa enjoys unsurpassed acceptance around the world, and Visa/PLUS is one of the world's largest global ATM networks, offering cash access in local currency in more
than 170 countries. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

For further information: Sarah Van Lange, Fleishman Hillard, (416) 645-8173, sarah.vanlange@fleishman.ca; Carla Morin, Visa Canada, (416) 860-8850, camorin@visa.com


Source: VISA INC.