IndieCommunication: Network Security, Scam Alerts & More

The IndieCommunication newsletter for June 14 includes tips for improving the security of Wi-Fi networks, new online scams to be aware of, the appearance of U.K. titles in booksellers’ data feeds, and an update on optimizing IndieCommerce sites for mobile users.

Is Your Store’s Network Secure?

ABA Systems Administrator Josh Harding shares a few tips to help booksellers improve the security of their Wi-Fi networks.

“Setting up a store network probably isn’t the most exciting part of anyone’s day. It is, however, important both for the security of a business’ sensitive data and for the protection of its customers. Offering a guest network and implementing a Wi-Fi password are two ways to provide customers with Internet without giving them access to your data — or giving other people access to theirs…”

Learn more about Wi-Fi security here.

Fraud Alert

Roger Doeren of Rainy Day Books in Kansas City, Missouri, recently alerted IndieCommerce staff to a scam/fraud e-mail he received, and all IndieCommerce stores should be aware of it. Here is the message exactly as it appeared in Roger’s inbox, including typos and grammatical mistakes:

“Hi, I am Dxxxxs Sxxxxh, do you ship to Poland and accept US issued credit card as Payment ? ,concerning the shipping I have a shipper that you will contact regarding shipping ,they will pick up the items and deliver directly to my store doorstep without hassle and i will also like to know the types of credit card you accept.Let me know if can e-mail you what am interested in ordering. Thank You Dxxxxs Sxxxxh”

Another questionable e-mail came to Leana’s Books & More in Hermitage, Pennsylvania. It was a request for 100 bibles costing $22.95 each, which the buyer claimed would be donated to a church. The bookstore asked if they were local and the “buyer” deflected the question by asking for a discount. The e-mail’s awkward sentence structure and lack of specificity raised a red flag for the bookseller, who did not fulfill the order.

These are pretty typical online retail scams. If you receive e-mails like this or run into online scams that you want to share with other IndieCommerce retailers, please forward the information to [email protected]. In many cases, e-mails like these will target multiple websites, so IndieCommerce staff aim to notify members as early as possible in order to prevent the fraud.

Are U.K. Titles Appearing on Your Website?

Gardners, Britain’s leading independent wholesaler, has been involved in the book supply chain for more than 25 years. IndieCommerce is working with Gardners and Ingram on testing Ingram book data that includes Gardners titles, so don’t fret if you see some U.K. titles appearing in your data feed. IndieCommerce staff will provide more information as testing progresses.

Optimizing for Mobile

Some IndieCommerce and IndieLite websites get close to 40 percent of their traffic from customers on mobile devices. In this Search Engine Watch article, Andy Favell discusses how photos and graphics should be sized so that they don’t slow down mobile users. The bottom line is to keep your image file sizes as small as possible without lowering their quality. Find information on working with images on IndieCommerce here.

Booksellers are encouraged to send their thoughts, questions, or suggestions via e-mail to IndieCommerce staff at any time.

Past editions of IndieCommunication are available on the IndieCommerce Updates page on BookWeb.org.