Shopping from your home has be come a fast and easy way to get good deals and a wider selection of merchandise but it is important to keep your credit card number and expiry information safe.
- Use only one card for all your web purchases. Some people have arranged for a separate card for this purpose and kept the credit limit low to reduce their risk.
- Check your credit card statement carefully as soon as it arrives and notify your credit card company promptly if there are any errors.
- Never post your credit card number on a message board or give it to someone in a chat room.
- If you send your credit card information by email, send the number in two pieces in separate emails. For example, send the first eight digits in one email like this 1234 1234 XXXX XXXX and the second set in other like this XXXX XXXX 1234 1234.
- Before you enter your credit card number online, check that you are on a secure site. The merchant's site should inform you about the service they use to ensure your credit card information is encrypted and you should look at the status bar of your browser to see that you are on the secure area. In Internet Explorer you will see a padlock icon and Netscape shows you a key.