More and more these days, shoppers are going online for their purchases. This saves them a great deal of hassle finding a parking spaces and being jostled by crowds or waiting for ages in a checkout queue. Instead, they can remain in the security of their home to shop and if they have children, they don’t have to interrupt the routine of eating and sleeping to get what they need.
But everyone wants to feel they are safe from online fraud, and the best way to do this is to only shop from reputable sources. Reputable sources can be identified due to their high profile on the Internet. But they also have in place certain securities for their shoppers.
Look at the address of your website on your browser bar. Most Internet addresses start with http; for an Internet business to be more secure, its address will start with https. This technology is called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and it means that your information is encrypted so that any third party cannot view it.
In addition to this, there is Secure Electronic Transaction technology, or SET. If your site shows a locked padlock icon on the bottom of the page, then they are using SET and are even more secure. If you are using Internet Explorer, the icon will be on the status bar.
A further sign to ease your mind as far as security goes is the VeriSign seal. This seal indicates that the site has been checked and so it is real; their Website address has been verified and the company name is bona fide under the terms of the VeriSign Security Compliance Internet Trust Services. That’s certainly a mouthful, but these are leaders of technology who have written the rules for conducting secure and safe electronic commerce.
It is also safer to use a credit card rather than a debit card to pay for your purchases. Why? A credit card uses money that you have borrowed; while a debit card uses money directly from your bank account. If you only have a debit card to use, then set up a dedicated banking account with a smaller amount of money in it. Then if a fraud occurs, you won’t lose your life savings.
Always check the seller’s details such as their privacy and return policy, their insurance and shipping costs and their payment options. Print out and keep your invoices, receipts and email confirmations. Once you learn how to put into place these simple steps, you’ll have the peace of mind to shop online.
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