Here at OptIndigo we see new customers every day, they sign-up on our site at all
times of day and night and start to send messages. This seems like the ideal
situation for any company but unfortunately this is no longer the case. GDPR
regulations mean that should these ‘customers’ send illegal messages we may be
liable for their bad behaviour, leading to a huge fine. You might have the same problem.
Here is a summary of our review process, hope you find it useful.
1. What time did they setup the account – weirdly we see that most
fraudulent accounts are setup just after 5pm. I assume the fraudsters
think that we’ve just left the office and we won’t notice them!
2. Check the user name – simple check to decide if the user name looks
reasonable
3. Visit the website – is it real, does it match the other customer details, do
the email address / telephone numbers match.
4. Check the mobile number – just google the number. Look for strange
results, SMS reply services, evidence of spam.
5. Check the contact name/email address – does the contact name on the
account match the details on the web site. Is the email address format
correct?
6. Check any test messages – do they look reasonable, do they match the
company details.
7. Look out for payments before they have made contact – it’s unlikely that a
genuine company would make a big payment before they’ve made
contact.
8. Do a scam check – do a google check for the contact name/email address/mobile number – look for evidence of scams on google.
9. Check the regulator sites – ICO, ASA, FCA etc…. Visit these sites to spot
potentially dodgy companies
10. Search your own databases!
We do this for all customers. We record the details on our CRM and block
accounts that look too risky.
Under GDPR you’ll need to do something similar. Hope this helps.
Good luck all.