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Online shopping is a wonderful thing. Not only is the world’s entire inventory of items available literally at your fingertips, but you can actively search for what you want using keywords, you can see it from many different angles before you buy it, and usually if you’re unhappy with the item you can return it with a money-back guarantee. How much better can it get?
Well, there is one thing that you’d probably prefer to change; web site security. Sites have their own security, but you can help protect yourself by asking yourself these questions:
1. Does the site seem trustworthy? Many people don’t shop online unless they’re doing so at a huge familiar business, such as eBay or Amazon.com due to security concerns. You don’t have to limit your glorious online inventory like that, as long as you follow common sense. You wouldn’t shop at a real-life store that seemed like a scam–if a site gives you a bad feeling, click the “back” button and get out of there.
2. Is the site security certified? Certifications from groups such as the Better Business Bureau prove that the store’s business practices are tracked by a professional institution at all times.
3. Is the checkout portion of the site secure? Look at the site URL; usually it says “http://”, but for secure checkout it should read “https://”. The S stands for “scramble” which is exactly what the server does with your delicate information before sending it out so that it’s not viewable by anybody else until decrypted at its destination. If the checkout is not secure, don’t use it.
4. Finally, what do other people say about the store? A quick web search of the store’s name can reveal negative testimonials if they’ve scammed anyone.
Despite all of today’s advancements, web sites can still be hacked, compromising your prepaid card number and other delicate information. Once they can prevent that, online shopping will be perfect.
