Website Security Rules Explained

2 006-2007 has been the           topped the list at 44%.            years that online shopping                                         has come into its own with      One of the big scams in 2006-2007  online consumers spending a           is the investment scam. Investing  record $65.1 billion in               has always been thought of as a    merchandise via the web. More and     good way to build a nest egg for   more people are getting               retirement, but there are so many  comfortable with online shopping      investment schemes offered via     and are engaging in online            the Internet that you don't        shopping, research and                really know which one is correct   exploration of various membership     for you. Further, there are so     and subscription sites.               many schemes that, while they                                            appear legitimate, are pure        Unfortunately, the chances of         scams. If you take your time, do   becoming a victim of Internet         a lot of research prior to         fraud also increases with every       signing on to something and don't  site where personal information       get taken in by the hype, you can  is places. The Internet National      make wise decisions and avoid      Fraud Center Watch recently           losing your money to fraud.        reported that the average loss                                           due to fraud the first six months     Many e-commerce sites are          of 2006 was $2,579. This is           trustworthy and have taken the     compared to the $895 average for      necessary safety measures to       all of 2005. Complaints relating      shield you, but it still never     to general merchandise purchases      hurts to proceed cautiously. If    (goods never received or              you decide to make an online       misrepresented) accounted for 30%     purchase consider these simple     of Internet fraud complaints, and     steps:                             auction purchases (goods never                                           received or misrepresented)           1. Make all purchases with one     credit card, preferably with a        99.9% of the time, it is not.      low credit limit. Avoid using an      It's a fraud waiting to steal      ATM or debit card because that's      your personal information. You     money taken directly from your        can also tell that the email is    account.                              fake because it won't have your                                          name in it.                        2. Be wary of unsolicited offers                                         by sellers. If it looks too good      3. Use only reputable e-commerce   to be true, it probably is. The       websites that list a street        Internet National Fraud               address and telephone number in    Information Center Watch reported     case you need to contact them      that email scams was up 22% in        directly. If you look all over     2006.While the offer may seem         the website, and you can't find    legitimate, spammers and phishers     bona fide contact information,     like to use this tactic to            move cautiously. You wouldn't go   side-step reputable sites that        into a store with no sign or       provide consumer protection for       street address, would you? Well,   online purchases. They will send      this is no different. If you       you to a site that looks just         can't find a number that connects  like the real thing. You put in       to a human being and an address,   your information and you are a        keep on looking.                   victim in about 3 seconds. If you                                        get an email asking you to            4. Read the website's privacy      confirm our Paypal, eBay or bank      policy. Some websites may reserve  account information, whatever you     the right to sell/give your        do, DON'T CLICK ON THE LINK IN        information to a third party.      THE EMAIL. Go to the site             Check the document to see if they  directly by typing in the site        allow an opportunity to "opt-out"  name, and see if there is             of receiving special offers from   anything related to the email. In     third-party vendors or for         permission to share your personal     if you really want to.             information. If you want your                                            name sold to a ton of people you      6. Choose only verified sellers.   don't know, then don't take this      Check to see if the vendor is a    extra precaution. If they do it,      verified member of a reputable     and there isn't a place to            third party such as the Better     opt-out, move on. It's not worth      Business Bureau, VeriSign, or      the amount of spam you will           Guardian eCommerce. These          receive.                              third-party sites help to ensure                                         online consumers will be           5. In the lower right-hand corner     protected when shopping or         of your browser should be a small     conducting e-commerce              lock icon which indicates that        transactions.                      the site is secure. Also, do not                                         provide your personal information     Shopping on the Internet can be    if the website address doesn't        both convenient and fun, if you    start with "https" on that            take the proper precautions.       checkout page. This isn't on the      Simply know the rules of the road  whole site, but wherever you are      and what you should be looking     putting your credit card must         for on websites, and you should    have these two things in place.       have no trouble. If you do,        If you can't find it or you see       contact the Better Business        an unlocked lock icon, don't put      Bureau.                            your personal information and                                            credit card information in there.                                        While the company may be               completely legitimate, it is not      type="text/javascript">                                                                                                 google_ad_channel =                                  "3545651507";                                                                                                   google_color_border =           type="text/javascript"             "FFFFFF";                                                                                                                                   google_color_bg = "FFFFFF";     src="http://pagead2.googlesyndica                                        tion.com/pagead/show_ads.js">      google_color_link =                                                "0000FF";                                                  About the Author: Alojate.com is the premier web hosting company in Mexico, offering a range or services for all business needs. http://www.alojate.com http://www.alojateextra.com Read more articles by: Ricardo D Argence Article Source: www.iSnare.com ...Archive >>