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Although It doesn't seem to be,
it is actually much safer to use credit cards online with a secure server than
calling someone and giving the credit card numbers over the phone. The Internet
uses a secure server, scrambling the data and putting it back together again.
Giving a credit card number by phone is not scrambled and is verbally given to
someone.
Credit card users should always
make sure they are on a secure website before keying in payment details. Make
sure that you are working with a reliable merchant as well, a company that you
know or have used before is a relatively safe. If you haven't used anyone
before, you can find out if the company is reliable and safe. An excellent way
to find if the company is safe, contact Better Business Bureau.
Not sure if a website is secure
or not? It can be hard to tell if you are on a secure website or not. In most
cases, if the web address is written like this "https:// " (secure) the data is
better off than on a website which is " http:// " only. Most payment pages are
through a ‘ secure' connection. Without getting into too many technical details,
just remember to enter credit card information only if the address has the
"https://" in the URL.
Chances are you'll want to make
some purchases from some of the smaller websites. You can do this safely though.
If you do not want to give them your credit card information, they use a service
such as Paypal. There are many other online payment services as well. In this
case, you don't need to give them your credit card information at all. You give
it to Paypal. Then, they make the payment to the merchant. If you do not receive
the product you paid for, many of these companies will investigate the matter to
help you out. But, even if you never do, at least the merchant does not have
your credit card information.
If you don't feel comfortable
about making a purchase online through an unknown website, have the better
business bureau investigate the company for safety issues. If no information is
provided, you may choose to use a different company to purchase from. Remember,
the Internet uses a secure server, scrambling the data and putting it back
together again. Giving a credit card number by phone is not scrambled and is
verbally given to someone. |