There are three main ways that you can protect yourself against credit card fraud online. All are easy to do and take very little time. The first is to make sure that you have adequate security software; the second is to make sure that you only use your card on secured websites; and the third is to never enter your cards details at the request of an email. If you follow these three simple guidelines then there is no reason why your card details should fall into the wrong hands. The easiest, and most common, form of card crime still occurs offline, over the counter in shops or other payment points.
Making sure that your PC is adequately protected is vital for anyone wanting to use the Internet. For PC users, there are many risks involved with everyday Internet use, above and beyond credit card usage, such as viruses or other malicious software trying to access your computer. Some of these threats can seriously damage your PC, or even render it completely useless; others can detect your passwords and communicate them to fraudsters.
The second thing that you should do is to avoid emails asking for your card details at all costs. There is a scam known as phishing, where criminals send legitimate looking emails asking you to visit a site and enter your card details. Both of the emails and websites can appear to be official, perhaps from a bank, but are in fact clever fakes. There are so many of these scams that giving details of every single one is impossible; some of these scams are also extremely clever and can be difficult to detect. The safest thing to do is never enter your card details at the request of someone else. No legitimate organisation is going to ask for your details in this way.
Once you have secured your computer many risks are removed. However when you visit a site and make a purchase you still need to make sure that you are entering your card details in a secure environment. Other Internet users cannot see a secured environment; you can tell whether a page is secured or not in one of two ways. Firstly you can see that the "http" acronym before the site address become "https", and secondly you will be able to see a padlock or broken key in the bottom right hand corner of your browser window. Before you enter your card details simply check that these are present.
Finally, you should never enter your card details at the request of an email, no matter how official looking that email may be. The most common way for criminals to catch people out is through a scam known as phishing. Phishing lures unsuspecting credit card users into entering their details on a fake website. For example, one of these scams involved a fake email being sent from a major bank asking for customers to login to their accounts using their card details. Of course this was a confidence trick. While they may send emails advertising goods and services, no major organisation is going to send you an email asking for your card details.
As you can see protecting your card details online is fairly straightforward. Perhaps the trickiest part will be installing and using the firewall and anti-virus software, depending on your computer experience. Most computers on the market now come with these installed already, alternatively there will be some bright spark you know who can help. As long as you follow these three simple suggestions then your card details are protected and you can continue with your online shopping without any worries.
Making sure that your PC is adequately protected is vital for anyone wanting to use the Internet. For PC users, there are many risks involved with everyday Internet use, above and beyond credit card usage, such as viruses or other malicious software trying to access your computer. Some of these threats can seriously damage your PC, or even render it completely useless; others can detect your passwords and communicate them to fraudsters.
The second thing that you should do is to avoid emails asking for your card details at all costs. There is a scam known as phishing, where criminals send legitimate looking emails asking you to visit a site and enter your card details. Both of the emails and websites can appear to be official, perhaps from a bank, but are in fact clever fakes. There are so many of these scams that giving details of every single one is impossible; some of these scams are also extremely clever and can be difficult to detect. The safest thing to do is never enter your card details at the request of someone else. No legitimate organisation is going to ask for your details in this way.
Once you have secured your computer many risks are removed. However when you visit a site and make a purchase you still need to make sure that you are entering your card details in a secure environment. Other Internet users cannot see a secured environment; you can tell whether a page is secured or not in one of two ways. Firstly you can see that the "http" acronym before the site address become "https", and secondly you will be able to see a padlock or broken key in the bottom right hand corner of your browser window. Before you enter your card details simply check that these are present.
Finally, you should never enter your card details at the request of an email, no matter how official looking that email may be. The most common way for criminals to catch people out is through a scam known as phishing. Phishing lures unsuspecting credit card users into entering their details on a fake website. For example, one of these scams involved a fake email being sent from a major bank asking for customers to login to their accounts using their card details. Of course this was a confidence trick. While they may send emails advertising goods and services, no major organisation is going to send you an email asking for your card details.
As you can see protecting your card details online is fairly straightforward. Perhaps the trickiest part will be installing and using the firewall and anti-virus software, depending on your computer experience. Most computers on the market now come with these installed already, alternatively there will be some bright spark you know who can help. As long as you follow these three simple suggestions then your card details are protected and you can continue with your online shopping without any worries.
About the Author:
John Webb writes about finance and money related matters for a number of popular websites. Read about Credit cards online and Credit card offers here.
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