Safe Online Shopping Tips Shopping online can be just as safe as shopping in a brick-and-mortar store, or by mail. Just keep these guidelines in mind and your online shopping experience will be a safe and secure one. Use a secure web browser: Always make sure that the online merchant provides secure transactions by using encryption technology to protect your personal information. Encryption technology encodes or scrambles information sent over the Internet so that if it is intercepted by a third-party, it cannot be read by them. Only the sender and intended receiver can read your personal/purchase information. The industry standard for secure transactions is an encryption technology called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). The web addresses of pages using SSL begin with https:// instead of http://. Another way to tell if the page you are on is secure is by the appearance of a padlock icon on the status bar of Internet Explorer. Place your mouse over the icon to see the level of encryption. In Netscape, an open padlock appears at the bottom of an unsecured page. The padlock icon closes when entering a secure page. Right click the icon to find the level of encryption. An encrypted transaction can't be read without access to a key, which is usually derived by using sophisticated mathematical algorithms to decode the data. There are two levels of encryption, 40-bit and 128-bit. With 40-bit encryption, there are billions of possible keys to decipher the coded information, with only one that works. With 128-bit encryption, there are 300 billion trillion times as many keys as with 40-bit encryption, making it virtually impossible for an unauthorized individual to read the information traveling between computers. A different security technology is Secure Electronic Transaction (SET). Both SET and SSL technologies are designed to make your transactions secure. Pay by credit card: If you pay by credit card, your transaction is protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act. Under this consumer protection law, you have the legal right to dispute goods and services charged to your account. It's also a good practice to use a credit card that guarantees you 100% protection from online fraud. Without this protection, you may be held liable for the first $50 in charges if your card is used fraudulently. Also, consider dedicating one credit card to online shopping and another to offline shopping. This way, if your online credit card number is compromised, you'll still have access to your other card(s). Never use you ATM/Check card for online shopping. If an unscrupulous individual gets that number, they can wipe out your bank account! Identity theft is a growing problem. Protect your password(s): Be creative when establishing a password. Avoid using a birth date, telephone number, address, or recognizable words. Instead use a combination of at least five letters, numbers and symbols. Use a password that is easy for you to remember yet hard for others to guess. Also, NEVER use the same password for shopping as you use for your ATM PIN or your online bank account. Shop with companies you know and trust: It's a good practice to shop with trusted, brand name merchants. However, if you are unfamiliar with a company, you can check out the company's reputation with Better Business Bureau Online or with consumer-rating sites like ePublicEye.com or BizRate.com. Also check to see if it displays consumer protection seals such as the Better Business Bureau Online Reliability and Privacy Seal, TRUSTe's Privacy Seal, or VeriSign's Secure Site Seal. Keep a record: After you submit your order you will get a confirmation screen with the details of your transaction. Sometimes there is a link to a web page where you can check the status of your order. Make sure to print your confirmation page and save it in case there are any disputes when your order arrives. This will also help you keep track of shipping dates, shipping and handling fees, and other details of your transactions. You may also get an e-mail confirmation. Save this e-mail until your order arrives. The Federal Trade Commission's 30-day rule states that merchandise must be delivered within 30 days unless stated otherwise. If the seller cannot ship the merchandise within the 30-day deadline, the seller must notify you. Then you will be given a chance to cancel your order and receive a refund. Or the seller can just cancel your order and issue a refund. Read the return and refund policy: Make sure you know how to return unwanted products, how long you have, who pays for return shipping, etc. Know who to contact: Check the site for a customer service page, phone number, contact us link, etc. to get your questions answered or file a complaint. If you still cannot get satisfaction, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, the Internet Fraud Watch, or the Better Business Bureau Online. Other useful sites for online shoppers include: Safeshopping.org, the Consumer Information Center, and Consumer World. |
Safe Online Shopping Tips Shopping online can be just as safe as shopping in a brick-and-mortar store, or by mail. Just keep these guidelines in mind and your online shopping experience will be a safe and secure one. Use a secure web browser: Always make sure that the online merchant provides secure transactions by using encryption technology to protect your personal information. Encryption technology encodes or scrambles information sent over the Internet so that if it is intercepted by a third-party, it cannot be read by them. Only the sender and intended receiver can read your personal/purchase information. The industry standard for secure transactions is an encryption technology called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). The web addresses of pages using SSL begin with https:// instead of http://. Another way to tell if the page you are on is secure is by the appearance of a padlock icon on the status bar of Internet Explorer. Place your mouse over the icon to see the level of encryption. In Netscape, an open padlock appears at the bottom of an unsecured page. The padlock icon closes when entering a secure page. Right click the icon to find the level of encryption. An encrypted transaction can't be read without access to a key, which is usually derived by using sophisticated mathematical algorithms to decode the data. There are two levels of encryption, 40-bit and 128-bit. With 40-bit encryption, there are billions of possible keys to decipher the coded information, with only one that works. With 128-bit encryption, there are 300 billion trillion times as many keys as with 40-bit encryption, making it virtually impossible for an unauthorized individual to read the information traveling between computers. A different security technology is Secure Electronic Transaction (SET). Both SET and SSL technologies are designed to make your transactions secure. Pay by credit card: If you pay by credit card, your transaction is protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act. Under this consumer protection law, you have the legal right to dispute goods and services charged to your account. It's also a good practice to use a credit card that guarantees you 100% protection from online fraud. Without this protection, you may be held liable for the first $50 in charges if your card is used fraudulently. Also, consider dedicating one credit card to online shopping and another to offline shopping. This way, if your online credit card number is compromised, you'll still have access to your other card(s). Never use you ATM/Check card for online shopping. If an unscrupulous individual gets that number, they can wipe out your bank account! Identity theft is a growing problem. Protect your password(s): Be creative when establishing a password. Avoid using a birth date, telephone number, address, or recognizable words. Instead use a combination of at least five letters, numbers and symbols. Use a password that is easy for you to remember yet hard for others to guess. Also, NEVER use the same password for shopping as you use for your ATM PIN or your online bank account. Shop with companies you know and trust: It's a good practice to shop with trusted, brand name merchants. However, if you are unfamiliar with a company, you can check out the company's reputation with Better Business Bureau Online or with consumer-rating sites like ePublicEye.com or BizRate.com. Also check to see if it displays consumer protection seals such as the Better Business Bureau Online Reliability and Privacy Seal, TRUSTe's Privacy Seal, or VeriSign's Secure Site Seal. Keep a record: After you submit your order you will get a confirmation screen with the details of your transaction. Sometimes there is a link to a web page where you can check the status of your order. Make sure to print your confirmation page and save it in case there are any disputes when your order arrives. This will also help you keep track of shipping dates, shipping and handling fees, and other details of your transactions. You may also get an e-mail confirmation. Save this e-mail until your order arrives. The Federal Trade Commission's 30-day rule states that merchandise must be delivered within 30 days unless stated otherwise. If the seller cannot ship the merchandise within the 30-day deadline, the seller must notify you. Then you will be given a chance to cancel your order and receive a refund. Or the seller can just cancel your order and issue a refund. Read the return and refund policy: Make sure you know how to return unwanted products, how long you have, who pays for return shipping, etc. Know who to contact: Check the site for a customer service page, phone number, contact us link, etc. to get your questions answered or file a complaint. If you still cannot get satisfaction, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, the Internet Fraud Watch, or the Better Business Bureau Online. Other useful sites for online shoppers include: Safeshopping.org, the Consumer Information Center, and Consumer World. |
Shop safely online for quality products from brand name merchants. Shop for everything from Apparel to Zip drives in one convenient Internet shopping mall. Buy anti-virus software, books, electronics, flowers, health & fitness products, music, sports equipment and much more. In addition, you'll find safe online shopping tips, free greeting cards, newspapers and more. Nowell's is your one-stop shopping mall. |
A service of Nowell's Online Shopping Mall Last revised July 13, 2004 Copyright William L. Nowell 2004 all rights reserved |
