Safe Online Shopping

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4 To complete a debit card transaction, you may have to use a personal identification number (PIN), some form of a signature or other identification, or a combination of these identifiers. Some cards have both credit and debit features: You select the payment option at the point-of-sale. But remember, although a debit card may look like a credit card, the money for debit purchases is transferred almost immediately from your bank account to the merchant's account. In addition, your liability limits for a lost or stolen debit card and unauthorized use are different from your liability if your credit card is lost, stolen or used without your authorization. Other electronic payment systems -- sometimes referred to as "electronic money" or "e-money" -- also are now common. Their goal is to make purchasing simpler. For example, "stored-value" cards let you transfer cash value to a card. They're commonly used on public transportation, at colleges and universities, at gas stations, and for prepaid telephone use. Man
y retailers also sell stored-value cards in place of gift certificates. Some stored-value cards work offline, say, to buy a candy bar at a vending machine; others work online, for example, to buy an item from a website; some have both offline and online features. Some cards can be "reloaded" with additional value, at a cash machine; other cards are "disposable" -- you throw them away after you use all their value. Some stored-value cards contain computer chips that make them "smart" cards: These cards may act like a credit card as well as a debit card, and also may contain stored value. Some Internet-based payment systems allow value to be transmitted through computers, sometimes called "e-wallets." You can use "e-wallets" to make "micropayments" -- very small online or offline payments for things like a magazine or fast food.

5 When you buy something using your e-wallet, the balance on your online account decreases by that amount. "E-wallets" may work by using some form of stored value or by automatically accessing an account you've set up through a computer system connected to your credit or debit card account. "PAYING" IT SAFE We encourage you to take steps to make sure your transactions are secure and your personal information is protected. Although you can't control fraud or deception on the Internet, you can take action to recognize it, avoid it and report it. Here's how. Use a secure browser -- software that encrypts or scrambles the purchase information you send over the Internet -- to help guard the security of your information as it is transmitted to a website. Be sure your browser has the most up-to-date encryption capabilities by using the latest version available from the manufacturer. You also can download some browsers for free over the Internet. When submitting your purchase information, look for the "lock" icon
on the browser's status bar, and the phrase "https" in the URL address for a website, to be sure your information is secure during transmission. Check the site's privacy policy, before you provide any personal financial information to a website. In particular, determine how the information will be used or shared with others. Also check the site's statements about the security provided for your information.

6 Some websites' disclosures are easier to find than others -- look at the bottom of the home page, on order forms or in the "About" or "FAQs" section of a site. If you're not comfortable with the policy, consider doing business elsewhere. Read and understand the refund and shipping policies of a website you visit, before you make your purchase. Look closely at disclosures about the website's refund and shipping policies. Again, search through the website for these disclosures. Keep your personal information private. Don't disclose your personal information -- your address, telephone number, Social Security number, bank account number or e-mail address -- unless you know who's collecting the information, why they're collecting it and how they'll use it. Give payment information only to businesses you know and trust, and only when and where it is appropriate -- like an order form. Never give your password to anyone online, even your Internet service provider. Do not download files sent to you by stranger
s or click on hyperlinks from people you don't know. Opening a file could expose your system to a computer virus or a program that could hijack your modem. Keep records of your online transactions and check your e-mail for contacts by merchants with whom you're doing business. Merchants may send you important information about your purchases.