Buying online can be extremely scary for first time buyers on
the internet, just the thought of giving a complete stranger
your credit card details can put most off completing their
first transaction. But even those who have been buying
online for years should still be careful as Credit Card
Fraud and Identity Theft is growing, fast!
Things to do and watch out for are:
Try to use a Credit Card rather than a Debit Card.
The reason for this is that credit cards are much safer and have far more security
features. You are very unlikely to be protected when fraudsters get hold of your
debit card details.
Look for https://
Make sure when you come to entering your payment card details that the address
bar shows https:// for example:
This means the payment page is a secure connection. If the payment
page is not secure it will be much easier for fraudsters to get your details.
Keep a record of the transaction
Print out any information you can when making
a purchase, such as the order confirmation page showing
the order details and receipt/invoice number. It might
also be wise to keep a record of the company name and address,
that way if anything goes wrong you have all the details
to hand to resolve the situation.
Protect your Computer
One of the easiest ways for fraudsters to get your details
is by hacking into your computer. So make
sure you have up to date anti-virus software installed,
a firewall in place and you regularly update your operating
system. Make sure to run your virus and spyware checkers
at least once a week and regularly receive updates.
If your anti-virus software does not have
spyware protection there are many free ones available to
use, but be careful don't download ones from an unknown
or untrustworthy source.
Spam email
Spam email is another way fraudsters can get hold of your financial information. If you
receive a spam email delete it straight away, if possible don't
even open it. If you do open the email don't click
on anything contained in it, not even "unsubscribe". If
an email sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Watch
out for "Phishing" emails. These are emails
claiming to be trustworthy companies asking for your personal
information. If you receive an email like this just delete it.
As Phishing is on the increase we will include
a more detailed article on this in a future issue of this
newsletter. I hope this short guide has been of some help to you all.
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