December 2,2008
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TTTT's for Online Transactions, Pt.2 –
– Check out vendors, guard sensitive information.3. Check out your vendors: When buying from a new vender you don't know much about, perform a little research first. Some credit card thieves have become so sophisticated that they actually create a ‘front' business online. These malicious web sites appear to be legitimate while they trick you into surrendering your vital credit card data. There are a few ways to protect yourself from their wiles, though. Locate some contact information on the page and check it out. Feel free to call phone numbers of write to sys-ops' e-mail or other places. Lastly, Google the company name and look for suspicious reports (or nothing at all). Be very cautious when entering sensitive credit card info it something that ‘doesn't seem right'. Shortly after your order, log onto your online credit card page and check your recent transactions. Things should show up soon, good or bad.
4. Be mindful of security features: Some are always good, while others are reserved for specific situations. Avoid common login names, they get hammered too much. Good passwords are essential. If you inadvertently forget one though...it's a problem. Make them unique, placing an upper-case character, digit or special character somewhere in the middle. Be very careful when allowing your computer to memorize things like login names, passwords and credit card numbers. Even in documents on your hard drive should not contain credit card info, they can be compromised.
5. Guard your personal information: Whenever asked for credit card info, driver license, SSN, etc. when online making purchases, be mindful of what is appropriate. Consider where this information might end up. Is it stored for just this purchase or is it retained? Has a ‘cookie' just been planted on your computer that will ‘learn stuff' and report it later to an unknown entity. Check for new cookies, almost always answer ‘no' when asked for permission. If offered (and it should be) check that web site's privacy policy.