Buying online is quickly becoming the
preferred method of shopping, what with rising gas prices,
the inconvenience of driving in traffic and mall parking.
User friendly product web sites, the ability to drop ship
your
purchases right to friend’s and relative’s homes, even
choose gift wrapping and greeting cards, has made online
shopping a favorite for X-mas gift shopping. Online shopping
can be a fun, productive and safe experience, as long as you
follow a few safeguards.
Tips for shopping online; when
shopping online, if you’re concerned whether or not you are
at a secure web site, check the URL. That’s the address in
the address bar of your web browser. If the URL begins with
https, then you are secure. The standard web URL begins with
http. Note the difference between http and https. The ‘s’
means you are on a secure web page. You can further confirm
this by noting the little lock icon at the bottom of browser
window. If this lock icon is closed, you are on a secure
page. If the lock icon is open, you are not secure.
When buying products online you
should use a credit card and not a debit card. Credit cards
are easier to put on hold should someone get your
information and in most cases when you report a credit card
stolen, all
the fraudulent charges will be removed from your line of
credit and you wont be responsible for them. Take great care
when using a debit card because the debit card is live real
time transactions directly connected to your checking or
savings account. If this money is removed from your account
fraudulently, it may be difficult to get back and you may go
sometime without that money while the bank investigates the
charges. Check with your specific bank for details on their
policies for fraud and the use of credit and debit cards
without your consent.
If you’re a frequent online shopper,
you may even want to consider signing up for a
PayPal account. More and more merchants are accepting PayPal
as a form of payment. It’s one of the most secure methods
today for online payments. To read more, visit their website
www.paypal.com
