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Almost all small online businesses do not believe they are liable for fraud on their websites, according to research sponsored by PayPoint.net.

The company found that 99 per cent of the 350 companies they surveyed did not accept any responsibility for fraud, with most passing it on to someone else.

Most blamed banks (35 per cent), nearly a quarter (24 per cent) blamed credit card companies while 23 per cent laid the blame on payment service providers.

However, 87 per cent did not anticipate complaints about fraud to reduce in the next year and 81 per cent of consumers are suspicious of security systems used by small companies, potentially pushing customers towards more familiar, big-name companies.

PayPoint.net managing director Alessandro Hatami said: ‘Small online online businesses lack the resources of their larger competitors but have an even greater interest in ensuring that customers have the safest possible experience.’

The company suggest comparing the IP address of the PC being used by the customer’s location with the billing and shipping address to improve security.

Small companies should also comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.

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Trojans have topped threat lists during the first six months of the year, according to a new report.

Security firm BitDefender Labs says that Trojans were the most popular form of malicious threat in the first half of 2007, along with mass mailers.

The Netsky worm also continued to keep its place in the top ten threat list, with all of the malware in the table accounting for two-thirds of total web viruses.

Viorel Canja, head of BitDefender Labs, called the shift from viruses to Trojans ‘an interesting trend’.

‘Although the popularity of mass mailers is slowly receding, variants are still present and pose a very real risk to computer systems used by consumers and small businesses,’ he added.

A recent report from information security services provider SecureWorks revealed that the number of hackers targeting banking institutions has soared by 81 per cent since 2006, with attackers using the Gozi, Prg and BBB Trojans in particular.

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