Although it never happened to me, I think it should be very frustrating to have your personal data stolen by hackers on the internet. When I shop online, I make sure that the company I am buying from is in the business for a long time and it is quite popular. Also, I do a little bit of research before, like reading the opinions of past clients on different forums and blogs. What do you do to remain safe? Have you ever been a victim? Share your stories and experiences here.
If you have ever had your data stolen or ever been the victim of any type of financial or identity fraud, it's important for you to contact the Police immediately. In most cases, they will usually advise you to immediately call your bank and have any cards and accounts frozen and/or blocked and then they will proceed to assist the Police in their investigation into the fraud carried out in your name. Never think it's not worth reporting, because next time it happens, it could happen to a single Mother living off of $100 a week, instead of somebody like yourself who may or may not be in such a terrible situation.
My father has had his identity stolen and it sucks for the entire family. I usually tend to avoid linking any of my financial details with anything online. I also tend to avoid shady websites and sellers when looking for deals online. I have only bought from reputable websites such as Amazon. I also have never linked my credit card or bank account to online money service websites like Paypal or Payza just in case.
I wouldn't be so paranoid about linking your details to online payment processors. They are secure, and if anything was ever to happen to your details they'd be completely liable and not only have to refund you the money, you'd most likely also be eligible for a compensation payment from them too. So try not to be too worryful of online services, they're not all that bad!
I just mostly shop with trusted sites, and I make sure I research if the site I'm about to buy from isn't too well known. Nowadays online payment systems are able to keep your details relatively safe, and I know I'll just have to trust that if I want any chance of shedding paranoia and prevent myself from shopping online and deprive myself of all that fun and excitement. Also, if I am really feeling extra paranoid then I'll just use a debit card so I would at least have only a limited amount that could be stolen if ever I did find myself in this unfortunate situation.
Grumpy is right, it is not a problem if you use safe payment processors like PayPal and so on. Hackers use various methods in order to stole your financial and personal data. For example, they might create a fake page ( like Yahoo!, PayPal, Facebook) and using different methods, they will eventually make you visit this page. You will think it is the real deal and you might input your login details which will be later transferred to their emails. This is called phishing. In order to avoid it, always check the URL of the page you want to buy from.
I avoid the dodgy websites, stay on the 'mainstream' websites and you should avoid most of the problems. I would like to think my internet financial activity is secure but I suppose it is always open to fraud if you are under attack.
My main email accoutn was hacked once, that was a nightmare... i cant even imagine online theft or fraud... I think that is why i use a prepaid card - specifically the paysafecard - to make all my online purchases, that way the risk is reduced because you only ever have a certain amount of money on the "card" or "code" at any one time - so the potential for damage is less... Also as Bolt stated - avoiding "dodgy" sites, or ones that are known to be shady is always a good idea! Stick with known names and brands when shopping online!
Only use websites that are trusted like paypal, payza, and don't buy from shady websites. It's not hard unless you do something very wrong.
I honestly don't think their is a great way to protect yourself from experiencing online scams. The best you can do is order from places that are a brand name or franchise that everyone knows about. You can pay through paypal. Ask your friends about websites that they know are good to use. Or don't order online, stick to what you know.
I am very careful with any site that I would put details in and I always use a prepaid credit card online. I don't order a lot online but if there is only about enough money to purchase what I want to purchase, it won't be as bad if somebody got my info. They would have nothing more then a card number getting declined for anything they try to use it on. But the worst part is that it is not just online that fraud can be a problem. There are devices that people were using to hack into the card readers of various legit businesses (including ATMs at banks.) It was giving people access to the card holders info. They were hacking into gas stations to get credit card numbers to use and everything. That is why I like the prepaid credit cards - again if anybody got the info they can't do anything with it but get declined.
If you dont mind my asking, which cards do you use? Or do you have specific ones for specific sites as I know that some sites only accept certain Prepaid Cards? Btw - I absolutely agree with you and think it was well written!
To stay safe online, I tend to just use my debit card. In the very unlikely event that my details are stolen (I can usually check which sites are legitimate before purchase) or a good isn't delivered, my bank will refund me within a week and chase up their bank to recover the money.
To be honest, I just use a debit card and I shop through paypal on my most favorite and trusted websites. I would hate to link my main credits cards to have them hacked. It would be a complete nightmare to deal with. I just can't imagine having this stress from shopping online. I rather begin the whole process as safely as possible.
I mostly buy with MBnet, using a debit card, while buying with my browser in private mode. I think i am pretty safe, because i buy for 5 years now and i still didn't had a problem.
what exactly is this MBnet? Never heard of it? @EdenSB - really? Debit card is safe? I think any "card" or payment method where you have to enter personal information online isnt "safe"... but that is just me!
Once you expose your personal information on the net, it can be stolen. That is just how it is. I NEVER give out my personal data online, i always use prepaid cards like Psc and if the online shop doesn`t accept prepaid cards as a payment option, i just don´t bother. Never had any trouble or fell victim to fraud.
Most of the online websites use Paypal as their transaction channel and are protected by good security standards..so i guess they are pretty safe..i shop online very often and have never faced such sorts of issues.
yeah, a lot of my friends use Paypal and they never had any trouble. But still, i don`t know, i prefer the anonymous way. Maybe i am too paranoid hehe.
Yes, I actually agree with that... no personal info Online - that is always the safest way to go... I am assuming by psc - you are referring to the paysafecard? this is my choice method of payment online as well... safest and quickest. @UshaBecker yes I have used PP in the past but its a pain to "register" for and the verification process is so time consuming and you really need to give out a lot of your info... I really try to stay away from that method of payment...
