Credit Card #s

Using your credit card on the internet is as safe as you make it. You need to do your due dilligence to ensure you are dealing with responsible companies and conducting your transactions in a safe manner.

You need to ensure that:
1) your information is transported to the appropriate parties (check the ssl certificate used by the other person to make sure it is them and that you indeed trust them)

2) that they do not hold your credit card data in their database or someplace worse...if they do it needs to be encrypted

3) that they never display sensitive data back to you on a web page

4) that they have implemented the appropriate access controls and authentication methods on the website and with their customer service department. Using information such as birthdays, social security numbers, etc is bad for identification. Canned security questions and answers for password retrieval and so on are also bad.

5) you should also check that they work with the major card providers in their anti-fraud efforts. Logo's such as 'verified by visa' are the top ones to stick with.....those companies must maintain acceptible fraud levels (usually 1% or so) which is quite good.

6) that any sensitive data sent to them is done with the appropriate encryption and encryption level.

Many companies dodge paypal like the plague due to their high fraud levels and their business take on handling fraud.

An interesting experiment is to go to google and do the following:
1) google for "paypal fraud"
a) Check the hit count you get and look through a few pages of links to see what was returned.

2) google for "visa fraud"
a) Check the hit count you get and look through a few pages of links to see what was returned.

My own experience was that paypal was primarily complaints of fraud or paypal screwing people. Visa however was primarily the steps they take to prevent or catch fraud and their system for handling it.

Anyone who tells you simply 'yes it is' or 'no it isn't' probably doesn't have enough experience or knowledge to give you an informed opinion.

[It seems that my post has been deleted - or I am blind]

An extra security measure you could take when purchasing off the www is to boot from a live CD linux distro. No, I'm not going to say it's foolproof, but it does increase security up a notch. This way you properly take care of any local holes that might compromise your purchase, such as software keyloggers, trojans and malware/spyware etc. With Knoppix for example, you only need to worry about hardware keyloggers [which I assume that, if you are at home, wouldn't be using :)] and the server side transaction.

All the relevant points have been already made about the latter. Encryption, knowledge of the site, known issues with the site [google for that]. For the most if anything happens your credit card company will take care of it, eventually investigate the problem too.

There's nothing wrong about buying online, provided you do it from a reputable company (e.g. amazon.com) and your transaction is handled by a secure server. Most credit card companies cover you for online fraud committed without your knowledge anyway.

Don't believe the horror stories the press keep feeding you - they merely exaggerate things to make a story out of nothing. I've bought stuff online plenty of times and never had any problems. In fact it's often a darn sight cheaper (I saved £25 on a DVD collection recently) and you don't have to speak to any uppitty checkout staff, plus it's all automated.

I use my credit card online, and take the security part seriously enough; check for the padlock symbol, and / or the https in the URL, as the absolute minimal check.

As for Paypal, I have an account. It works by you giving them your details ONCE, then when you buy, if the site does use paypal, click the link and follow the directions. Paypal will make the transfer, and then debit your card, not sure how much / if any commission is charged, or whether the business absorbs the cost.

I use Paypal, mainly to send donations for the S/W I D/L, [ I can't be the ONLY person who pays ?] but I use it if it is the first time on a site.

And; remember, if in doubt: DON'T..........
they can only get your details if you send them.........

my personal advice: Use a debit card instead of a Credit card. Debit cards take money directly out of your checking or statement savings account. If you leave a statement savings account with only 100 dollars in it...and use it only for online purchases then it limits your damages to 100 dollars. Same goes for a checking account. Never keep too much money in your checking account anyways...Always leave enough to pay the bills and whatever u might need...no need for $10k in a checking account.

Another good thing to do is get those credit cards you have to put money on before they can be used (Visa check cards I think, CitiBank has one too) and then anytime you want to buy something online, put some money on it, and use it. Then if someone does get the number, they won't be able to buy anything cuz it will be out.

If you really want to be safe just go to the store if they have one close to you and pay for the item with cash, then there is no need to worry about it after that.

Quote:

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Originally posted here by The Grunt
Another good thing to do is get those credit cards you have to put money on before they can be used

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Erm, isn't that a contradiction in terms? The whole concept of a credit card is that you are given credit to use and you only have to pay it back later.

Really though, I don't know why people are so paranoid about shopping on the internet. Like I said, if you buy from a reputable dealer with a valid SSL certificate there shouldn't be any problems. If somehow someone gets hold of your details (extremely likely even if they manage to sniff the connection since it will be encrypted) you will still be covered by your bank/card issuer so long as you haven't been negligent.

Another thing that should be done is to read everything on the credit card's web site or brochure and see if they do offer fraud protection and how much you will be liable for if any amount and what steps they take if a very large purchase is being made.

This is from American express

Quote:

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We use secure encryption technology to keep your information confidential. And if someone uses your Card without your consent, you'll never pay any part of the fraudulent charges—not even the first $50.

If any unauthorized charge appears on your statement, simply notify us at the 800 number of the back of your Card, or access your account at americanexpress.com and notify us by e-mail. In most cases, a temporary credit is given immediately.

Our Fraud Detection system watches your account for uncharacteristic or unusually high charges. If your identity is not verified, the purchase is stopped.

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Mastercard

Quote:

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Zero Liability
Have peace of mind knowing you won't be responsible for unauthorized purchases.

Receive the benefit of not being liable in the event of the unauthorized use of your U.S.-issued MasterCard. As a MasterCard cardholder, coverage extends to purchases made in a store, over the telephone, or on the Web.

Zero Liability is provided under the following conditions:
Your account is in good standing.
You have exercised reasonable care in safeguarding your card.
You have not reported two or more unauthorized events in the past 12 months.

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Using a credit card on-line is as safe as using it in a small buisness (both are risky), but in most fraud cases you are only responsible for the first $50. Just the same I try not to use credit cards at all.