Archives
April 2009
March 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
Recent Entries
Stephen
Movie Metaphysics: The Dark Knight
What's Going On Here??
Why I'm Getting Rid of Google Chrome
Twitter and Me
Advent
To the 52, From 1 Of the 48
A Note To Authors (and PR people, too)
Beat Coastal, The Sequel
Obama's Backdrop

December 17, 2004

Online Shopping, and Credit Card Security

I keep telling people that it's easier to shop online. And I keep hearing about credit card security, and how bad it is on the Internet.

And I see these same people sit in a restaurant and pay for their meal by credit card. And hand their credit card to a waiter or waitress that they don't even know. Seriously -- with a cheap magnetic strip reader, this person could have your card, and you'd never know it until the charges showed up on your account.

My wife had a card number stolen not long ago -- off the ticket she filled out for a Fed Ex delivery. I've used cards on the Internet all the time, and the only time I've ever had a problem was when someone working at a hotel I was staying at snagged the card number off my receipt (which also had my address and phone number).

Yes, there are scams on the internet. There are scams in real life, too. I don't stay inside all the time, and I'm not going to stop shopping on the 'Net. Here are a few good things to think about:

  • Shop at places you know. Amazon is a great place to shop, and they are secure.
  • Shop places online that you shop in 'real life'. If an internet store has a brick and mortar equivalent, you can be pretty sure they are trustworthy, and are going to be around for a long time.
  • Don't give ANYONE your account number or information by email. REAL companies don't do business this way, only scammers.
  • Look for security. That little padlock in the browser frame is a good sign -- click on it to see how secure things really are. Also look for https:// at the beginning of the site address.
  • Use common sense. Think about what you are doing online.

Follow these tips, especially the last one, and you should be OK shopping online. Now, where did that waiter go with my card?
__________
Trackback to this post and express your support for MY bid to be King of the Blogs!!

Posted by Warren Kelly at December 17, 2004 10:00 PM
Email me!
Email Protection by Name Intelligence