A survey of Canadian small businesses released by Visa reveals that 41 per cent of respondents believe that 'data thieves and hackers' are not interested in targeting their businesses because of their size. As part of its annual Fraud Prevention Month activities, Visa is hosting free fraud prevention seminars in Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Calgary that will emphasize the importance of data security for small businesses.

"Regardless of the size of the enterprise, it's important for business owners to appreciate the importance of data security and what steps they should take to protect their customers and business," says Gord Jamieson, Head of Payment System Risk, Visa Canada. "The information sessions will provide a great deal of information and an opportunity for small business owners and managers to ask questions."

The Ipsos Reid survey, which was commissioned by Visa Canada, surveyed 885 small business owners about their data storage and security practices. Thirty-nine per cent of respondents describe securing customer information as a vital part of their business and 94 per cent believe that securing data is important to their customers. Of the 60 per cent of respondents that do keep electronic files with customer information, 86 per cent noted that they either encrypt the data (8 per cent), ensure that it is password protected (39 per cent) or ensure that the information is both encrypted and password protected (39 per cent).

While the majority of respondents claim to appreciate the importance of data security to their business and customers, more than half (52 per cent) have never sought information about how to properly secure electronic information and 24 per cent do not know where to get information about how to better secure information for their business.

"Preventing fraud is a shared responsibility," says Jamieson. "By offering information to small businesses during Fraud Prevention Month, we can help them better protect themselves against data thieves."

The Visa Canada workshops will help educate small businesses about how to better protect themselves from fraudsters. Sessions will include information on how to properly process a credit card transaction, tips on how to protect credit card information and to ensure that their payment application is secure, chip and PIN technology, and an overview of the Visa Account Information program. More information and free registration is available online at www.visa.ca/fpm.

In addition, through its participation in the Fraud Prevention Forum, Visa works closely with government and law enforcement to provide educational materials to all Canadians to help them "recognize, report and stop" fraud.

Educational materials for consumers and merchants on fraud prevention can be found on www.visa.ca/securewithvisa.