November 30, 2009
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BBB; Protect Yourself When Online Shopping, Pt.1
Simple steps to avoid fraud.With the growing popularity of online shopping, credit card thieves have quickly set out to attack innocent shoppers and rob them of their money and identities. There's no doubt that shopping online is convenient and a valuable service to most Americans. Unfortunately, hackers and cyber thieves have made it an unsafe environment. Retailers, banks, and credit card companies have been diligent in taking steps to assure consumers' personal information is safe. Despite their efforts, a number of criminals continue to infiltrate Americans' computer systems, steal credit card information, and rack up millions of dollars in fraudulent charges. With the Holiday shopping season upon us, the Better Business Bureaus (BBB) wants Americans to be safe while enjoying a pleasant shopping experience online. Here are some simple steps you can take to better protect yourself while shopping online.
1. Use your credit card rather than debit. Why? Because debit cards do not come with the same comprehensive protection. If a thief gets a hold of your debit card information, he can clean your account out within minutes. Not only do you have less time to report a problem to your bank, but the dollar liability is higher credit cards and it could take weeks before you receive any settlement. Furthermore, the illegal activity can potentially end up costing hundreds of dollars in over-draft fees. Protect yourself from online criminals by installing the latest updates to protect against spam, virus, and spyware.
2. Check out the reliability of any site you are unfamiliar with at the Better Business Bureau's online site. Look for the BBB logo on the merchant's website and click on it to check the company's customer satisfaction history.
3. Keep track of your receipts. Print out online receipts and verify all purchases with your credit card statement to assure accuracy. You can save confirmation emails or save the receipt page in a separate folder.