ONLINE Ordering - Safest Way?

[SARGE]

Was wondering, since folks do alot of online ordering using credit cards, which browser is recommended. I've always used IE but many folks in these parts dislike it (for security?). Realizing that 99 percent of the people suffer no credit card interception by hackers, I don't wish to fall into that other 1 percent.

[doctorgonzo]

I think that ensuring that any web order forms you come across use SSL will protect you as much as possible. I think most credit card problems either arise from hackers breaking into servers that store the info (not much you can do about that), or intercepting the info that is sent accross the net in the clear (unencrypted e-mail or internet pages).

[wedor]

Only time I've had trouble is when Egghead was hacked into and numbers stolen, mine and my son's were among them.

[DrZaius]

Yeah, just make sure the site is reputable and uses HTTPS for its order forms and has some sort of security certificate like Thawte or VeriSign.

[Confused]

Like others have pointed out, I'm much less worried about my number being stolen while being sent to site as I am about security of site I'm doing business with. While anyone is vulnerable to hackers, at some point you have to give some trust to the vendor. If a hacker get's into, say Radio Shack, he will get my number. I've used it both in the store and online. I use IE6. Credit card companies are more worried about it than I am. Card holders are only liable for the first $50.00 of fradulent use, so the card issuers put a lot more pressure on a site to be honest and secure than I possibly could.
Chas

[doctorgonzo]

Electronic fraud sounds more exciting, but in reality, if you order online using SSL, you are far safer than in the real world, probably. When you give your credit card to the waitron at the restaurant to pay, who knows how many people have a chance to look at the number? It is also quite easy for people to go through mailboxes, grab either credit card statements or payments, steal them, and go from there (it's been happening a lot around here lately, I have heard). I have been ordering online for years and I have never had a problem. One of my father's less ethical employees stole his SSN and bought a cell phone plan, running up thousands of dollars of charges. Looks like low-tech thievery won.

[HAL9000]

Just make sure you card has some form of fraud protection. Sure, it would suck to be out fify bucks, but better the fifty that five hundred or five thousand.

[wedor]

I've seen many of the cards selling fraud protection, but if I recall correctly the law only makes you liable for the first $50, so there is no need to pay for this "service".

[Hot Rod]

I saw just a portion of a show on identity theft. They had a guy that was in jail and he gave advice to people on how not to have your identity stolen. His simple statement was "shred everything."

I agree...you are probably more likely to have your info stolen in the real world than online. You have people going through garbage, watching over your shoulder at ATMs, stealing credit card slips in stores, etc... The online incidents get more press though because it is usually a mass amount of numbers from a frequently used site and people are already nervous about sending personal info on the internet.

No matter where or how you do business, you have to be careful and just know that there will always be some risk involved.

[doctorgonzo]

The law does limit liability to $50 if you report the incident within 60 or 90 days (can't remember which). Besides, most credit card companies will waive it all if you alert them quickly enough and cooperate: they are only too happy to stop a thief's spending spree earlier rather than later.

I have started shredding everything that I get in the mail that has financial information (such as those checks that credit card companies send you in an attempt to get you to take a cash advance at exorbitant rates). When you can get a shredder for less than $20 it is cheap insurance. That, and I mail things from post offices. I live in an apartment, and it is only too easier for the unscrupulous to go through the "outgoing mail box" and take whatever they want without anybody being the wiser.

[LawyerRon]

The merchants always waive the $50 limit because they're not out anything: they simply charge the merchant back. The CC company normally doesn't lose a dime. I was in the mail order business for many years and understand how the "system" works.