With all the hacker news in the headlines these days, Target, Home Depot, and now Sony Corporation, you might be starting to feel a bit more hesitant to offer up your sacred credit-card digits online.
There is no question that over the past year or so, identity theft and identity fraud are on the rise – perpetrated mainly from online hackers. In some cases, it is solely fault of the company, like Target last year, and Home Depot this past summer.
In both of these cases, they were hacked using the Internet exposing and losing millions of users credit cards and debit information. With this type of breach, the only way people could have avoided it was to carry cash. So, if you do more online shopping it might be in your best interest to be more cautious this holiday season.
Below are a list of clues that a shopping site might not be trustworthy:
To start with, if the site looks poorly designed, unprofessional and contains broken links. Also, if you can’t find an address or phone number for the business and if the sales, return and/or privacy policies are hard to find or unclear. A dead giveaway that a site is not trustworthy is if your back button is disabled. In other words, you get stuck on a page and can’t go back a step.
Finally, if you’re asked for credit card information anytime other than when you are making a purchase is a good indicator that the site you are on is unsafe.
Everyone needs to be aware when they are on a secure website. An indicator that a website should be secure is the lock icon or unbroken key near the website address that begins with https://. Also, be on the lookout for prices that are too good to be true. They’re likely counterfeits. Next, avoid using public Wi-Fi to purchase online goods.
Also, don’t respond to an email or pop-up message that asks for financial information. Legitimate companies don’t ask for this information as a pop-up. Finally, read your credit card statements to check for any unauthorized charges. So, in the end, if you are worried about purchasing items using your credit card but have no other options, you can use a service called “PayPal” or check with your credit card company to get a reloadable or prepaid credit card.
With regards to avoiding using credit cards, most credit companies now offer re-loadable credit cards for you to add money to a temporarily credit card that you can use for online purchases without the worry of using your regular credit card information.
Another option is to use a service called PayPal. (www.paypal.com). When you sign up for a PayPal account, you type in the credit cards and bank accounts you wish to use for purchases one time on the PayPal secure system. Once that is accomplished, you never again have to disclose your credit card information when making online purchases since all purchasing goes through PayPal. By paying with PayPal, you keep your credit card information private, meaning that you can shop without worrying about a hacker downloading your account data from your online merchant. One good thing about PayPal is that it is free and many online stores are now support it. Most certainly a safe option!
A good website to visit that helps inform Canadians on protecting themselves online is the Government of Canada’s website at: www.getcybersafe.gc.ca
