Using Credit Cards Securely Online

Nowadays, shopping online is a very common thing. Making your purchases without leaving your house is an attractive option for many of us. Purchasing items over the internet using your credit card can be quite an unpleasant experience if you don't make sure your payments are safe. Although many people consider that using a credit card for online transactions is not safe, they continue using this method but with increased caution measures. The greatest risk we expose ourselves to when shopping online is identity theft. But this is not the only risk, and various studies reveal that people have also other concerns like: personal information will be sold to third parties, unauthorized recurring transactions, not receiving the ordered products or even higher prices than advertised prices.

Many people think that shopping online is risky, but the risk is not greater than others. Taking few precaution measures is the best thing to do unless you want to quite shopping online. First of all, we should not shop from unknown websites. Always look for the companies you know or ask someone to recommend you a site or a company that he/she uses. Still, if you're not sure of the vendor's identity try to find his address and phone number and check them. Also check the refund and return policies of the company in case they don't ship you the right products or you're not satisfied with their quality. Another thing to be careful about is the browser that you're using, it has to be a secured browser. A secured browser should include Secure Sockets Layer that scramble the information you are sending over the internet, making the transaction more secure. You can easily recognize a secured web site, because when you're filling in online orders or applications a closed padlock sign should appear at the bottom of the screen. Another way to make sure that the web site is secure is to check the URL; if it begins with "https" it means the transaction is secure because the "s" stands for secure.

Another important thing to be careful about is your privacy. The information you're submitting when you use your credit card online should be kept private by the company that receives it, meaning it should not be passed on or sold to third parties unless you agree. Most web sites ask for your permission to use personal details for direct marketing, and if you feel uncomfortable giving them permission you must know you have the right to object. Anyway, before submitting any personal details you should check the privacy policy of an website; if there are things not clear to you give them a call and see if your understanding is correct or not. Do not submit any information, unless you're absolutely sure that your credit card details are safe.

Being able to safely use credit cards for online purchases is not only the buyer's responsibility. The vendor has also his part of responsibility in ensuring safe purchases for his clients. Vendors also suffer from credit card frauds. They have to take some security measures in order for them and their customers to be protected against online credit card frauds. Security and privacy are two important aspects a vendor should take into consideration. He must ensure the client that the personal information submitted are kept private and at the same time he must check the details received to make sure that he's dealing with the real cardholder.

It is a well known fact that online credit card transactions are risky, because your personal information are exposed and can be stolen by others with the intention of using them to commit frauds. Yet, if the buyers are careful to whom they relies these information and the vendors are cautious from whom they receive credit card information, the risks of online credit card frauds decreases significantly. When disclosing personal information, common sense should exist.

This article has been provided courtesy of Creditor Web. Creditor Web offers great credit card articles available for reprint and other tools to help you search and compare credit card offers.

FCC's broadband plan may help ecommerce development EDL Consulting According to Internet Retailer, the increased availability of high-speed internet will aid ecommerce on two fronts. As small businesses in rural areas begin ... and more »

ZippyCart

OpenSky Making Progress With Relationship Based Ecommerce Model ZippyCart By the ZippyCart Ecommerce Software Content Team There are many variations for the basic ecommerce model of offering up products or services for people to ...

What Do You Buy Online?: Ecommerce Trends vs. In Store Savings.com (blog) Certainly in the last couple of years e-commerce has seen significant growth--in fact, in 2009 online sales were 6% of total retail vs. 3.2% in 2007. ...

Chase Paymentech and Kount Join Forces to Combat Fraud for eCommerce Merchants MarketWatch (press release) DALLAS & BOISE, Idaho, Mar 15, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Chase Paymentech, a leading merchant acquirer and payment processor, and Kount, a Boise, Idaho-based ... and more »

Vast majority of small businesses do not take part in ecommerce EDL Consulting Soren von Varchmin, vice president of ePages - a provider of web space and ecommerce solutions for small businesses - reported on Thursday that 89 percent ...

Ecommerce Journal

Internet and e-commerce industry in Georgia Ecommerce Journal Turning to e-commerce segment of Georgian ICT market, it's important to say that despite, the deployment is relatively slow, the progress is still possible. ... and more »

600000 people now work in ecommerce in the UK InternetRetailing.net ... as it releases statistics on the number of people now working in ecommerce in the UK and on the likely future growth of staff numbers in UK businesses. ...

Ecommerce Group Head - International - Media Agency PFJ Media Recruitment Agency (blog) You will be a true analytical individual who has experience in digital direct response campaigns or have worked client side in an eCommerce capacity. ...

Magento and PayPal Expand Relationship to Drive e-Commerce Innovation MarketWatch (press release) Magento is one of the fastest-growing global e-commerce solutions. Its open source product gives merchants complete flexibility and control over the user ... Magento Integrates PayPal into Ecommerce Selling SolutionAuctionbytes all 26 news articles »

EBay Slashes Pay For Top Executives Wall Street Journal ... packages reduced compared with the previous year, as the ecommerce giant slashed stock and option awards, according to a regulatory filing on Friday. ... and more »