25 Most Common Internet Passwords

When Adobe revealed in October that a jaw-dropping 38 million Internet passwords had been nabbed and posted on the 'net for hackers to make use of it caused headaches in the IT departments of companies across the web.

If there was a silver lining to that debacle it was that when companies  combed through the passwords in order to warn their customers they found an astonishing number of people use the same simple, easy to guess passwords.

From the records SpiderLabs and BBC News were able to the 25 most common passwords in the hacker's hands. If you see a password of yours on this list, time to change it.

• 123456
• 123456789
• password
• admin
• 12345678
• qwerty
• 1234567
• 111111
• photoshop
• 123123
• 1234567890
• 000000
• abc123
• 1234
• adobe1
• macromedia
• azerty
• iloveyou
• aaaaaa
• 654321

• 
  

IRS Postpones Backup Withholding For Credit Card Accounts to 2014

Yesterday afternoon in a welcome bit of news the IRS announced that they are delaying the requirement to begin backup withholding for merchant service providers until 2014.

Backup withholding is a penalty the IRS submits to merchants that have an or  incorrect TAX Identification Numbers (TIN) on file with their credit card processor. If the TIN on file with the processor didn't match what was on file at the IRS the processing company would be ordered to withhold 28 percent of the merchant's credit card volume. This would continue until the merchant filed a return that the IRS judged to have a TIN that matched what was on file at the processors.

The postponement is terrific news for merchants and their payment card processors. The policy has already created a blizzard of new paperwork for the processing companies. And with withholding scheduled to begin in a few months the inevitable results were going to be: merchants furious with their processing companies, even though the processors hands were tied in the matter; and further hardship on businesses already struggling to keep their doors open. We should all breath a sigh of relief that's been postponed.

However, it's critical that merchants not overreact  become lax with respect to filing correct TINs. The IRS delayed backup withholding for one year but it is still going to come next year. And the match on file next year will be based on the 1099 that is filed in January 2014- only a few months away.

Touchscreen POS System With Free Technical Support For Less Than $3200

Are you a retailer or restaurant owner who has seen the benefits of a  touch screen Point Of Sale (POS) system but been deterred from purchasing one by the near-five figure price tag on most systems on the market? If so, your time has come!

CCSalesPro and HioPos have teamed up to offer a custom touch screen POS system for under $3200, printer, software and cash drawer included. If a business owner desires a heavy duty cash drawer or a bar code scanner they are available for a few hundred dollars more. Other options like a kitchen printer and digital scale are available.

There are no hidden fees and no monthly expenses. The purchase price includes installation and training. In addition, technical support is provided at no cost for four years. If a restaurant provides a menu, or a retailer provides an Excel spreadsheet detailing her product line, they will upload those into your new system for you at no charge.

Running your business on a shoestring budget? Choose to lease your new system for around $100 a month for 48 months.

Feel free to contact me for details or with any questions.

Merchants Are Running Out of Time to Prevent IRS Backup Withholding.

This is the time of year that credit card processors notify merchants for whom they do not have correct Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) on file. Should you receive such a notice it is vitally important to your business that you contact your processor immediately.

As I covered in this post last year, http://brswitzer.blogspot.com/2012/08/tax-identification-numbers-and-your.html, having an incorrect TIN on file with your processor results in backup withholding, whereby the processor withholds 28 percent of all your credit card volume by order of the IRS. Fixing the TIN after withholding starts doesn't help- it will not end until you file a tax return and the IRS determines you are eligible for a refund.

In September and October the IRS requires processors to send "B" notices to affected merchants listing the steps they need to take to update their account information. The "B" notice will include a Form W-9. The Processing company has just 30 days from when they are notified by the IRS to get a corrected W-9 back from the merchants, after which they are forced to start backup withholding.

You should always read any communication from your processing company, but it's especially important during these two months of the year. If you receive notice that your TIN is invalid or doesn't match what's on file with your processor, contact them and update your account immediately.

Enormous Double Billing Error Affects Companies Across US

First Data Corp., the back end platform for thousands of credit card processing companies, revealed today to it's processing partner companies that they duplicated the ACH payment for July processing fees on one of it's largest  platforms.

First Data is still reviewing to see how many merchants are affected, but the number could be in the hundreds of thousands. First Data is also explaining that the ACHs may not be for the same amount. For instance if a merchant owed $200 for their July processing the first ACH would be $200 and the second $203 or some other close but not exactly the same number.

The company hopes to have the reversal file built today. Once the file is built they expect to be able to deposit refunds within 24-48 hours.

Reportedly the company will be working with any merchants that incur NSF charges as a result of the incident. They will require documentation and ask that you contact your processing company if this has occurred.

The Ten Most Easily Stolen ATM Card PINs

Credit and debit card fraud affects millions of Americans every year.  Your first line of protection against fraud is your PIN, and depending on how much thought you put into your personalized number, you could be at greater risk than you realize.

A new study from DataGenetics says that card thieves are able to successfully guess more than 25 percent of stolen card PUN's within 20 attempts. The study lists the most used PIN's. And because they are the most commonly used PIN numbers, they are by default the least safe.

The 10 most used PINs:

  1.  1234

  2.  1111

  3.  0000

  4  1212

  5.  7777

  6.  1004

  7.  2000

  8.  4444

  9.  2222

10.  6969

By the way, the study said the least used PIN is 8068.

Are you using SMS (text) Messaging to Engage Your Customers?

Email has been a transformational way for business owners to keep in touch and send offers to customers. However, mobile is emerging as THE channel of tomorrow, and merchants need to be able to use it to improve brand awareness and engage with new and prospective customers.

According to a 2012 Pew Internet and American Life research Report, the majority  (a whopping 82%) are sending and receiving text messages on a daily basis. Naturally, with this huge increase in text messaging, SMS (Short Message Service, or texting) campaigns present a way for businesses to reach customers on the channel they use most frequently to interact with family and friends. It has become one of the most powerful and effective new ways to activate and engage customers.

Retailers have traditionally built foundational relationships with their customers with email- but you should know that text messaging is an up-and-coming platform that you can use to maintain regular communication with your customers. By implementing a mobile strategy that appeal to customers who are familiar with and regularly use mobile, you can broaden your reach and appeal to a wider audience. By sending instant and relevant messages to customers and providing them with a strong call-to-action, businesses can bolster their brand as well as improve revenue.

SMS allows businesses to spread awareness of their mobile presence and keep customers engaged by offering coupons and initiatives.  You can also increase loyalty and increase future purchases by engaging with your customers by sending alerts on new products and sales. SMS campaigns that provide consumers with timely offers and insider brand information can turn casual shoppers into loyal customers and brand advocates.

With the steadily growing number of customers using mobile to access the web, in addition to the number of customers browsing and purchasing through mobile storefronts and retail applications, SMS is a key tactic you should incorporate to boost your marketing strategy.

Getting Your Share of the Credit Card Class Action Settlement

Visa and MasterCard have recently reached a proposed settlement agreement that  allows  merchants to receive a portion of the $7.25 billion total proposed settlement amount. The settlement is the result of a class action lawsuit brought against Visa and Mastercard by hundreds of businesses across the country. The lawsuit claims that merchants paid excessive credit card fees for accepting Visa and Mastercard due to an alleged conspiracy by the card companies.

Any merchants who accepted Visa or MasterCard between January 1, 2004 and November 28, 2012 are eligible to receive a portion of the Cash Fund based on the volume that was processed in this time frame. Merchants who are eligible to receive money from this fund will be able to collect it once the settlement is approved during the Fairness Hearing, scheduled for  September 12, 2013, in New York. 

There are two settlement classes. The first is a more than  six billion dollar fund set aside for anyone that accepted cards during the above time frame. An individual merchant's settlement amount will be 10 basis points, or ten one hundredths of one percent (.0010 percent) of the volume the merchant processed during the time frame.

So if Bob's Diner processed $10,000 a month between January '04 and the end of November 2012, Bob would take $10,000 X 107 months, for a processed amount of $1,070,000. Ten one hundredths of a percent of that figure is $1070- Bob's settlement payout. 

The second fund is open to certain merchants that accepted Visa and Mastercard and who  paid interchange fees during an eight month period that starts on July 29, 2013. This fund is estimated to be $1.2 billion.

A website has been set up at paymentcardsettlement.com for merchant informationand to file claims. 

Two very important points about the settlement- the first is its scope. This is FREE MONEY for anyone anywhere in the country that accepted Visa or Mastercard. All that is required is completing some paperwork and following the guidelines established on the settlement website. Nonetheless, fund administrators expect fewer than thirty percent of eligible merchants will claim their settlement share.

Secondly, dishonest processing companies are already trying to mislead merchants in regards to the settlements.Using phone calls, emails and faxes they promise they can help you get a huge settlement if only you let them take over your processing.

Each merchant's settlement amount is what it is. You plug your numbers into the formula and viola; the amount that results is your payout, and no one can change that.

So check out the settlement website, spend an afternoon totalling up the amount you processed over the settlement period, and start the paperwork to receive your funds. And pay no attention to the dishonest processing companies that give this industry such a bad name.

Feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or problems you have concerning the settlement, or anything else concerning your businesses electronic payments.

Visa Allows Surcharging; Why You Should Think Twice Before You Surcharge

Beginning Monday business owners  are going to be deluged by sales people offering to make their credit card processing more profitable by adding 'surcharging' to their processing account.

And while it's true that as of Monday Visa has changed it's rules so that it is no longer against the card rules to add surcharges to credit transactions- to add a $1.00 fee to each card you process to cover your processing costs, for example- it is not a cut and dried situation.

First of all, surcharges are illegal in Kansas and Oklahoma by state law. Secondly, Visa's instituted  a myriad of rules and regulations that you must follow if you are going to add surcharges- it can only be done on credit transactions, not debit, you have to follow guidelines that tell you how much you are allowed to surcharge, and several others. The regulations that accompany surcharging are complicated, and I suspect that Visa will be watching very closely for a few months and coming down hard on violators, whether they intended to break Visa's rules or not.

And thirdly, I would urge you to really consider whether you should be surcharging at all. Your customers are not going to like it. Unless you think it wise to anger a broad section of your customer base you may not want to participate.

If you genuinely feel you are paying too much for your credit card processing and have to recoup some of those costs (and if that is the case you need to redo your processing agreement) there is a better option- you can always offer a small cash discount. That will encourage more customers to pay with cash, and allow you to cover some of the costs accrued when customers do pay with credit. (Just remember to adjust your pricing accordingly.)

If you are in a state where surcharging is illegal and someone claims it isn't or has a way to get around the law, contact me immediately. I'll get you the law's title number and exact wording- you don't want to be breaking the law. And if anyone has any questions or concerns about the rules and regulations that Visa has in place, feel free to contact me anytime.