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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.
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