Shop: Is Shopping Online Secure?

by: Linda Quinones

Is shopping online becoming popular and safe enough for you and I
to do the vast majority of our shopping on the Internet?

As I contemplated, when I initially set up my website: www.shopshopshop.org The first thought that came to mind was will they
come and will they spend money? Sure people are always curious and some will visit but will they stay long enough to spend some money?

Safety was the first concern of those I had spoken to, they were somewhat skeptical and therefore reluctant to make any online purchases. It is our
responsibility as online marketers to convince them to about the safety of
online shopping.

We all know about the convenience of getting on the computer and viewing the sale that retailers are using to entice the shoppers into making a commitment. But are not always as eager to go ahead and complete the purchase online.

The internet today is as safe or safer than making purchase in person, I recently read an article where BJ Wholesalers was fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission for not having sufficient security to protect Credit Card users.

Most of the purchaseing we do today is pay for by either a credit card or a debit card. So If you think that when you purchase gas and pay for it at the pump
with your credit card or debit card that you are making a safe purchase think again.

I recently purchase gas at my favorite gas station and paid for it at the pump with my debit card, only to find out two weeks later when the bank call me to question some of purchases that were charge to my debit card.

It seems that somebody was making purchases that were very uncharacteristic for me. And the institution where I have been banking for many years was able to detect this and all my money was refunded and a new card issued.

I was fortunate in the incident just described, but back to online shopping,
most of the retailers that do business online have very good security to protect the purchaseers. After all they would rather you make your purchases online,

Online shopping is much more profitable for the stores and safer and besides
no shoplifting takes place on the internet, so the store want to protect this revenue source by making it safe as well as convenient.

Another willing partner is the credit card companies themselves they want you and I to continue using the plastic, and are doing all they can to protect the credit card user.

In our website we have a page titled credit card fraud protection, with direct links to the major credit card companies website and anti fraud page, so that shoppers can read what the credit card companies are doing to protect them from fraud and identity theft.

As more and more people become aware of the security measures being undertaken to protect them, they will avail themselves of the convenience
of doing their shopping online and use the time they save for pleasure and
family activities.

People today are always in a hurry and don’t usually have time to wait on long lines for cashier to ring them up, when they can accomplish the same
thing without leaving the house.

This is more attractive to younger active people would rather play a round of
golf or a couple of sets of tennis than fight the maddening crowds.

So I recommend that you get online and start spending! For safe secured shopping visit: shopshopshop.org


About the author:
Linda Quinones has been active in promoting her own site while trying to help others to succeed in the Internet marketing field. Previously she was involved in the financial sector for several years. Her website is: http://www.shopshopshop.org

Protecting Your Business From Credit Card Fraud

by: Keith Baxter
Credit cards are used as forms of payments now more than ever. There are also more online businesses and most of these businesses accept credit card payments. Therefore, protecting your online business from credit card fraud is vital. For businesses that are offline, the challenges of accepting credit cards as payment can be the same. Fraud is such an ugly word and we want to avoid it at all costs. Thankfully, there are steps you can take, whether your business is online or offline, that will help to eliminate your risk of being a victim.

Steps For Online Business Owners

Although most consumers think being a victim of credit card fraud, particularly when purchasing a product online, it is actually much more likely that the merchant will be the victim rather than the consumer. Here are some tips to help you avoid this.

First, always verify that the address the consumer has given you is correct. Your merchant account probably offers an Address Verification System that will verify that the address you have been given matches the billing address of the cardholder.

If you're shipping a product to a consumer, make sure the shipping address matches the billing address. If it does not, you probably should investigate the transaction.

Be leery of unusual orders. Since a thief would have no idea of the consumers purchasing history with you, if something gets ordered that is completely out of the ordinary check it out. Phone the customer if you can. Even if it's legitimate, they should be grateful that you called.

Take as much information from the purchaseer as you can when they are filling out the order form. In addition to their name, address, and telephone number, ask for the name of the bank that the card is issued from as well as the 3 or 4 security digits that all cards have now.

State on your web site that you have anti fraud devices in place and operating at all times. This will give the thief pause before entering your web page.

Steps For Offline Business Owners

Since you are actually going to see the person that is trying to use the credit card, your chances of being a victim of fraud are diminished, but problems can still happen. Here are some tips to help protect you and your business from credit card fraud.

Never take a credit card without getting identification. Check the name and signature to see if they match. This will not offend most customers who are on the up and up. Most will even be grateful.

Check the credit card for forgery by knowing what characteristics are found on legitimate cards. Many cards now contain a hologram that changes color in the light. Check the signature panel to make sure the signature cannot be erased. If it can, it's fake. Look for the magnetic strip and make sure it is intact.

You should also use the Address Verification Service. This will help you as well.

About the author:
Keith Baxter made it his mission after college to educate as many people as possible to the advantages and disadvantages of credit through a widespread re-education initiative. You can find out more about Keith and what he's up to at http://www.credit-card-debt-consolidation.net

Identity theft: Safeguarding Can't Hurt

by: Daryl Campbell
Will we ever get a break? Not right now .In San Diego, police arrested a postal worker for stealing mail and trading it to identity thieves to support his drug habit.

Another arrest involved the hacking of wireless carrier T-MobileUSA's network. According to Fox News, the attacker gained access to a database of 16 million customers including the personel information of the Secret Service agent investigating the break in.

Then there's Choicepoint. When last we left the information giant, criminals broke into their 19 billion records database. Choicepoint now acknowledges previous attacks that date back to the year 2000.

The number of identity theft victims as well as the methods of getting personal information continue to increase sharply. Yet while no 100% guarantees exist online or off, safeguarding can't hurt and one of the best ways for fighting identity theft exist in your own home.

Check your trash.

Going thru your garbage has turned into an exact science and a major goldmine for the identity thieves. The Department of Justice refers to this as "dumpster diving" Check everything you throw away then check it again.

Mark any information including financial statements, driver's license, address and especially your social security # "Sensitive" then shred it. I recommend a crosscut shredder. Throw it away in different garbage cans on different days.

Shred junk mail credit card offers and get taken off the major credit agencies' marketing lists.

If you're not doing it already, get into the habit of taking your mail particulary any bill payments directly to the Post Office. Identity thieves also target mailboxes. They frequently stake out the area and wait for the optimum time. Getting a locked mailbox doesn't hurt either.

Use anti spyware, a firewall and antivirus programs on your computer system. If performing a transaction online make sure the company provides a secure server. They should tell you but if not look for the yellow lock at the bottom of your screen.

Guard your plastic. Examine your credit card statements and request a copy of your credit report. Agencies will send you one free copy per year. If you request more than one, you get charged a fee anywhere from 9 to 20 dollars depending on the credit bureau.

Handle this with care. Eventhough you're doing the right thing in trying to protect yourself, too many inquiries are frowned upon by these agencies and could impact your credit negatively. Joining a credit monitoring company can remove that obstacle.

One caveat.You should exercise vigilance in protecting your credit cards but it's not the total solution that some experts claim. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 60% of all identity theft cases do NOT involve any existing accounts. Guard your plastic but make guarding your Social security number the top priority.

These methods of protection take on a special significance
due to the identity of the criminals. According to the Better Business Bureau's 2005 Fraud Survey Report, family freinds and neighbors account for half of all identity thieves. You don't want to turn someone you know and love over to the authorities so do your best to eliminate the temptation.

Again, no 100% guarantees exists. You make transactions at the restaurant, corner store, gas station and a host of other places. We all need to deal in this world so there's always a risk factor. Stay vigilant on the things you control and the chances of identity theft can decrease.

Because at all costs you want to avoid what many victims rank as the worst part of identity theft. The nightmare of recovery.

About the author:
Daryl Campbell is a writer and home business owner.Banks say you should check your credit once a year. No problem right? Except it leaves identity thieves the other 364 days to steal it. Get the professionals on your side to watch your back 24/7. How? Go now to => http://digbig.com/4dwsx

How To Avoid Being A Victim Of Ebay purchaseer’s Fraud.

by: Kirsten Hawkins
From everything you’ve heard about the risk of fraud on eBay, you might think it’s only purchaseers getting scammed – but you couldn’t be more wrong. Here are a few common scams that sellers fall for every day.

The Rubber Cheque.

This one obviously isn’t limited to eBay – it’s been going on for years in all kinds of business. It works like this: a purchaseer sends you a cheque that they don’t have the funds to cover and you pay it in your bank. You then send the goods right away, only to find out a few days later that the cheque bounced.

The solution to this is simple: don’t send anything to a purchaseer until their payment has cleared, no matter how quickly they might say they need it. Advise them to pay electronically if they don’t want to wait so long for their items. Then again, if your items are quite small, you could just take the loss from an occasional bounced cheque. Think of it as a small price to pay for faster and better customer service.

‘I Never Bought Anything!’

This is one of the riskiest scams to fall victim to. In this case, the credit card’s real owner still has control over it – no-one has stolen their details. They have realised, however, that they can phone up the bank who issued their card to say that it’s being used fraudulently and they never bought any such thing, and the bank will often reverse the transaction without even investigating. The only way to beat this scam is to make all your sales through eBay, as they keep a record of transactions.

The Unconfirmed Address.

It is quite easy to steal PayPal accounts from inexperienced users: all you need, after all, is their email address and password. PayPal tries to protect against credit cards registered on stolen accounts being used to purchase things by listing a ‘confirmed address’ for each purchaseer – an address that matches what is registered with their credit card issuer.

What many scammers will do is ask you to ship to a different address – unless you’re very sure of them, this is a bad idea, as they could be trying to commit credit card fraud. Be especially suspicious of anyone who wants to pay a higher price and get overnight shipping, especially if not even to the same country as the confirmed address. The fraudster is trying to make sure the item reaches them before they are discovered.

It’s up to you to take responsibility for fraud on PayPal, as eBay’s favourite way to refund fraudulent payments to their rightful owner is to just reverse it from you! This is considered an occupational risk of PayPal usage, and sellers who get burned severely sometimes go as far as moving to a rival electronic payment service. See http://www.nopaypal.com for more.

In the next email, we’ll take a closer look at PayPal, and ask: should it be the only kind of payment you accept?

About the author:
Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.auctionseller411.com/for more great tips on how to make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.