Stories abound warning consumers about the perils of shopping on the internet. Internet shoppers have every justification to be concerned about the growing problem of identity theft and having their credit card information compromised. Having your identity stolen can be an expensive and complicated matter to clean up.
Don’t think, though, that you have to give up shopping online, altogether. Although nothing will completely eliminate your risks while shopping on the internet, there are some steps you can take to minimize your exposure to these risks.
When shopping online, be sure to look for the website’s security policy. Most internet retailers are aware of their customers’ concerns and will explain exactly how the company protects their customers’ information. Expect to find discussions that indicate that the retailer encrypts customer information and that it’s a secure site.
Choose one credit card to pay for your internet purchases. If you have the misfortune of having your credit card information stolen, you’ll only have to cancel your credit card. Never use your debit card online; you don’t want thieves to have access to your checking account.
Don’t use public computers to shop on the internet. Some web browsers store your information and could be accessed by someone else with the skills to harvest that information.
Never email your credit card information whether you’re sending it to a retailer or a friend. Email servers are usually not as secure as the type of software used to process credit card information.
Try to choose well-known retailers when shopping online. The larger retailers will have the experience and capital to invest in their website’s security processes to make sure that they are utilizing the latest in internet security. If you just have to have something you find at a smaller website, consider calling their customer service line and giving them your information via the phone.
Using a PayPal account to pay for your internet purchases is a way to add an extra layer of security in your internet purchases. Many of the smaller, less secure, websites will allow you to use PayPal to process your payments to them.
Remember that when shopping on the internet to use your common sense when selecting your retailers. If a website doesn’t feel professional, you should probably trust your instincts and look for your product elsewhere.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I make a great deal of purchases online. Most of the time, it is from “name” retailers. When it isn’t, I usually just Google the name of the retailer to see if they’re legit or not
I have a quick comment. I want to remind people to check your monthly bank statements for unusual fees.
Quick Story that happened to me this month:
I have an account with a major bank. I don’t use checks and I had not called them in about a month. One day I notice a $20.00 Fee. The Fee on my online account stated “TELSVC FEE”. I sent an email asking them to remove it. A week later, it was still on there. I got hot and I called them to give them a piece of my mind.
They informed me that it was not their Fee charge. In fact, they could not figure out the merchant. They sent me over to the Disputes department and gave me a temporary credit. I was told that if it happens again, I may have to close this account and open a new one.
Identity Theft comes in any forms and some forms hide the theft automatically.
Another great feature is something known as virtual credit cards. There are a few major credit card companies that offer this service. Each company may do it slightly differently but in general you are given a virtual credit card number to shop online. For some CC companies this is a single use number, so you don’t need to worry about it being stolen. I’ve never tried the service myself, but like you I use a single credit card for online purchases. But for the more paranoid type this may be just the ticket to help them overcome their fears of online shopping.