More and more people are now getting interested to be a part of the growing community of online business. Inc. noted this data from 2013 Forrester's report, "e-commerce will outpace U.S. brick-and-mortar over the next five years, reaching a total of $370 billion in annual sales by 2017." Given this information, no wonder why many business enthusiasts are so eager to embrace financial opportunities from the world's fastest developing industry.

But to help you achieve opportunities, benefits and advantages of online marketing, it is crucial to know and understand your business risks too. Three major risks of online marketing are:

Internet Fraud

According to CyberSource, an Internet Security Firm, as posted by Chron, "Despite an 18 percent drop in 2008, web merchants still lost about $3.3 billion in 2009 to Internet fraud." Of all online crimes, credit card fraud is about 6 percent; 58.4 percent of which incurred less than about $1,000 in damage. This might not be large enough to prosecute or your business to decline but the loss can seriously damage your business' profit margin. That's why sellers need to be cautious in every transaction all the time.

Malware Infection

Malware is one of the most serious problems on the Web. It can disrupt your computer use. It can also access your most valuable information and gather these data from your computer. That's why if your website is infected with this, your visitors will surely just click the back button immediately and never go back to your site again. Who wouldn't want to transact business from you given the idea that they are losing their important files in the end?

Website Hacks

Hackers are not just after the military, government or established businesses. Even websites that are owned by small and novice entrepreneurs are also at risk of malicious attacks, as per PowerHomeBiz. These people can replace your content, deface your website, redirect your websites to other domains, change your log-in information or inject malware and other harmful files to your website. Not only will you lose income if your website is down, you will also lose your trusted customers and visitors.

Every business field has risks. But remember, you will never gain anything if you will be too scared to take a great leap and conquer it. Use these risks as your stepping stone. Strengthen your edge and create a stronger foundation for your business.