Mark A Priganc

Identity Theft: Online Transaction Safety



Posted: Wednesday, January 19, 2011

by Mark A Priganc
http://www.SurvivingTheNightmare.com

When presenting the dangers and realities of Identity Theft I am often asked the question- “What can you suggest for safer online shopping?”  Well, in order for me to be able to help as many people as possible I figured I should put a few of those tips into print.

 So, let’s look at three suggestions that can help you shop online a bit safer.

1)      Make sure the website you are about to make a purchase from is authentic and secure.  When you hit a prominent website like eBay® or Amazon®.  For those sites you probably type the name directly in to the address bar of your browser.  But, what about the smaller sites that you find through a web search?  Be sure to look at the address bar and make sure it is a different color (i.e. blue or green) this is a quick way to check for page security.  But, don’t stop with just that indicator.  Also check for the ‘https’ included in the address bar.  Another, and third level of safety is the little padlock in the lower right corner of your browser.  If it is locked the page is a secure page.  Many if not most of the smaller sites you may encounter to make a purchase use PayPal®and you can buy through their secure gateways.

2)      Designate One Specific Credit Card for ALL of your online buying.  Following the above tip and coupling it with this one streamlines the statements that you have to scrutinize for unauthorized charges.  This alone can greatly reduce your chances of being scammed online.

3)      Get a pre-paid credit card.  The primary advantage of this method of operation is that a would-be thief has no access to your Personally Identifying Information (PII)… That is if you get a card that doesn’t require a direct deposit arrangement.  Look around for the card that best fits your online shopping needs.  Most of the pre-paid cards will have a monthly service fee of between $4.95 and $9.95.  That is between $60 and $120 per year for the card.  So, be aware of those costs.  If you’re not doing much shopping online then this probably wouldn’t be a cost effective method.  But, you can get a Visa or Mastercard gift card for those once in awhile purchases.  If you go this route to protect yourself online, you may want to only keep enough money on the card for what you are planning on spending.

These three tips are by no means a complete list of potential safety measures but they can help to reduce your possibility of being the next online victim.  Always practice vigilance when shopping online.
Mark A Priganc , CITRMS Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist.

Mark is an expert in the field of Identity Theft. He has written two books on this subject: Identity Theft: Surviving The Nightmare and Identity Theft: The Personal Guide. Mark is also the founder of The National Law Enforcement Identity Theft Summit.

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