Dealing with payments on the Internet is no different to dealing with payments in a normal business - you need to take the same precautions. Every day, shop owners in the real world must be wary of credit card fraud, bouncing checks and shoplifters.

Fortunately on the Internet you have one big advantage over bricks and mortar shops. While a shoplifter can walk into a normal shop, grab a product and walk out, this is usually not possible on the Internet. The only way a customer can shoplift from you on the Net is by presenting you with a fraudulent order. Using for example a false credit card to pay for the items added to the shopping cart.

Your advantage of course is, that at this stage you still have the products. And when you sell online, you should only fulfill an order, if you feel comfortable that the order is real and the customer can pay.

One Internet business actually delivered goods to a man waiting on a street corner - and wondered when they lost thousands of dollars in a fraudulent deal! Another business lost out when responding to an order which only listed a Post Office box as an address.

If an order is suspicious in any way, check it out. Call the customer. Verify the address. Cancel it, if you have any suspicions. Always remember: If you make 25% profit and one item gets stolen, you will have to sell the item 3 more times, just to make up for the loss.

When selling online you have the advantage over the shoplifter. Use the advantage, and your shop will be safer than those in the real world.

One way to improve your security is by using low cost fraud protection services provided for example by GlobeCharge. This service can alert you to suspicious orders, which even on close inspection may look valid. GlobeCharge checks a number of fraud indicators, such as credit cards issued in another country, customers who are not where they claim to be or orders from high risk countries, for example.