Some people are adamant about NOT using their credit cards online. When pressed to give specific concerns, the answer is usually some variation of “It’s not safe.” Fact: There has never been a single, documented, verifiable instance of credit card information being intercepted while being transmitted over the Internet, whether by e-mail or using any online form, encrypted (secured) or not.

Using a credit card on the Web to make purchases is actually LESS risky than using it to make purchases at “brick-and-mortar” establishments (“stores”). When you use your credit card to pay for dinner, for example, your food server will typically take your credit card to the back room and bring back a slip for you to sign. You sign it and then what happens? You take your copy of the receipt, leave the other copies on the table and walk away. Talk about bad security!

For some strange and illogical reason, many of the same people who refuse to use credit cards online are very comfortable making credit card purchases by telephone. This is referred to as the “talking-to-a-live-body” syndrome: The misperception that speaking with a person is more secure than interacting with a computer. Think about the “security” associated with that process: You provide your credit card information to somebody you don’t know, at an undisclosed location, and if that’s not bad enough, you usually receive no proof of purchase! We should be worried sick about it, but most of us don’t give the process a second thought because we’re comfortable with using a TELEPHONE!

Credit card fraud is rampant in the world, yet you never read stories about the “dangers” of the telephone or fax machine when those devices are utilized as a vehicle for transmitting credit card information. Have you ever faxed your credit card number on an order or application form? Didn’t you feel just a twinge of apprehension thinking, “What if I dialed the wrong number?”

Let’s examine what happens on the receiving end of your fax: The fax containing your credit card number – and probably your name, address, telephone number – is printed on a piece of paper that will reside in the paper tray of the receiving fax machine until somebody – it could be anybody – comes along and retrieves that piece of paper.

In all probability your order will be processed appropriately, but do you have any idea how many copies are made of the information you fax? The first step for many retailers is to make photocopies of the order information for distribution to appropriate departments within the organization. But what’s to prevent Dan, the disgruntled copy boy, from making an extra copy? Succinctly stated: Absolutely nothing.

The bottom line is this: Using a credit card online is about as safe as it gets.The next time you read a story involving the Internet and credit cards, ask yourself, “Is it really a story about the dangers of using the Internet to shop online? Or is it a story about an unscrupulous merchant failing to deliver merchandise, bad Web site design and/or questionable business practices?” 

There is one golden rule that applies to using credit cards in general: Check your credit card statement each month. If there are any charges you don’t remember making, call the phone number that appears on your statement. If you’re convinced you didn’t make a charge, challenge it, don’t pay for it and wait for the merchant to produce a proof of purchase or some documentation that will jog your memory. If proof is not forthcoming, you’re home free. Safely and soundly.

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Fact:

In the early days of Internet commerce, websites did not have adequate security; but things have dramatically changed.  The first sites popped up in 1994 and did not really take off until 1999, but fear of credit card theft kept many shoppers offline. In 2004 the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council realized the need for strict guidelines for online shopping. Companies such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover developed a protocol for Internet retailers that include constant updates and testing, firewall installation, and anti-virus software to prevent data mining with worm viruses.  These regulations have made using credit cards on the internet safer that using them at restaurants and gas stations. Although many sites are secure, there are several precautions that you should take to make sure you are fully covered.

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