Smart Shopping

Internet shopping -Is your credit card information safe!

The internet has changed the way we shop today. Just about anything can now be bought on the internet. The internet has become  one of the biggest shopping markets in the world today. More and more people are now shopping online using their home computers and an internet connection.

Whether you shop at the corner department store or the internet, information provided here is meant to make you an informed buyer so as to help you get not only the most value for your money and protect your personal information.

Most people would  consider online shopping as a way to save time and a convenient way to shop for products however there are still many internet users express their discomfort with online shopping as it requires sending personal or credit card information over the internet 

While the majority of us shop in the various stores around their neighborhood. An experience that has its own pleasure. Shopping trends are changing at a rapid pace.

Internet shopping is now becoming an acceptable way to shop. Despite some safety drawbacks and problems associated with identity theft and credit card fraud shopping online is a reality and here to stay.

While internet shopping is becoming an acceptable way of shopping by many people there are still many who still do not feel quite secure shopping on the internet.

On the other hand those who have tried shopping on the internet, are somehow hooked with the concept of being able to shop around the world from their home computers.  

Should you shop online? I can only say that at some point of time we will all shop online, at least to some extent. In fact there may be several advantages to shopping online, however there are certain precautions that people should consider when shopping online.  

 What's the safest way to shop on the internet? Read More>>>

 

How to pay safely when shopping on the internet

SHOPPING ON THE INTERNET INFORMATION & TIPS

When shopping for any item, one has to pay for it. There are several ways to pay for goods you buy on the internet. You need to satisfy yourself which one you feel comfortable with.

Here are some methods of online shopping payments.

1. COD: (Cash on delivery) : This is the old fashioned way. The payment is made when you receive the goods.  Naturally this is the safest method.

PROBLEM: However in this day and age COD has gone out of fashion. The vast majority of merchants do not offer this facility for those shopping on the internet.

2. CREDIT CARDS: Shoppers pay online by credit card. While the merchant in this case get their money right away.

PROBLEM: More and more cases of credit card fraud are reported every day. Hence one has to be careful. Many of us do not like the idea of giving our personal information on the internet for fear it may be misused.

This is perhaps the number one reason why people do not shop on  the internet. They are just not comfortable giving their credit card number out on the internet.

3. PAYMENT GATEWAYS: Also known as 'Payment Service Providers' are companies who are in the business of processing electronic payments for merchants who sell products and services on the internet. For example companies like PayPal.

Simply put, the payment gateway you choose collects the payment from you for instance via your credit card or withdrawal from your bank account. You avoid the need to give out your credit card numbers on the internet to each and every merchant you buy from.

PROBLEM: There may be fees involved depending on the payment gateway they used. Safety factor of your information being protected would of course depend on the company you deal with.

There is also the possibility that the gateway you sign up with may not be accepted by the merchant you are buying from. For instance not all merchants accept PayPal.

4. SECURE WEBSITES: There are some merchants who provide secure website pages when you are ready to buy a product you are taken to a secure page to enter your personal and credit card information. Payment gateways mentioned above use secure pages.

Secure pages, to put it simply is that the data is encrypted and transferred to the other party. When you are on a secure pages you will notice two things. The address bar will change from the usual 'http' format to 'https' and secondly you should see that there will be a padlock visible both at the end of the top and bottom address bar on your page. In case you are wondering 'https' stands for 'Hypertext Transfer Protocol over a Secure Socket Layer'.

PROBLEM: While the information sent over secure 'https' pages is encrypted and sent to the server. There are two things to take into  consideration.

Even though your information is safe during transmission to the other server, how can you be sure your data will be kept safe at the other end. People should realize that https is not a certification that the company or shall I say the website you are dealing with is legitimate. The only security will be that they will get your sent data will arrive safely at their end, there is no guarantee what they do with the data received.

Any website owner if they want can subscribe for and easily get https support. Just because a website has an https connection don't assume that they are a lawful business. It is up to consumers to ensure that they look at the reputation of the company they are dealing with before sending out their personal information to them