Keeping Your Transactions Safe

The ability to purchase goods over the Internet is one of the best parts of living in the 21st century, but how do you lower the risks while keeping the benefits? In this article, we look at some tips for keeping yourself, your computer and your money safe on the Internet. 

Credit Cards and the Internet

• Buying products over the Internet can save you a lot of time and money, and allow you to purchase rare and elusive items that cannot be bought in stores.

• However, providing your credit card details over the Internet can be a very easy way for someone else to steal your details and ring up large purchases on you unawares!

• There are three ways to make buying through the Internet more safe, though there is no 100% guarantee: one, by only filling in your details through a secure site; two, by using a debit card with only the necessary amount of money in it, and no overdraw facility; or three, by using PayPal.

Buying Through the Internet

• You will notice in the address bar, most websites start with http. The secure version of this is https. Only provide credit card details into a website form which can verify who it is, and that it is a secure site. The extra’s’ in the http stands for 'secure', and it means that they have software which guarantees the safety of your transaction.

• Having a debit card is a slightly safer way of using the Internet to buy products (as compared to a credit card), although this should be used in combination with one of the other methods, rather than as a stand-alone. After all, someone can't use your card to buy products if there is no money in the account. Most people will have a separate Internet-only account linked to the debit card, which will allow them to transfer money from the Internet account into the debit account when they wish to purchase a product.

• PayPal is probably the easiest way to increase the security of your transactions through the Internet, and they provide two ways of using their service. Firstly, you can have an account with Paypal and transfer money into your PayPal account, and simply use those details when you wish to purchase a product; or secondly, you can use PayPal for an instantaneous banking transfer, whereby PayPal pays the company, and your bank will send the money to PayPal.

Keeping Your Computer Secure

• There is little point in attempting to keep your Internet transactions secure if your home computer is not, because certain viruses can track your keystrokes, which makes intercepting your payment messages unnecessary if they can simply lift the information from your very fingertips.

• Take a look at our recent article on Internet Safety: Part 1., which covers the most basic information about software that you'll need to keep your computer safe on the Internet, and look out for future articles discussing the topics in more depth.

• If you're worried about whether or not your computer is secure enough to be buying over the Internet, call up your local IT shop and ask to bring it in. They can provide you with the necessary software to get you feeling safe.

• A second option is finding a university student, whether it be a neighbour, neighbour's kid, or a friend's teenage son or daughter. They will often know what you will need to keep safe, and will probably know the cheapest method of gaining this security too!

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Disclaimer: The information contained in this section should not be used for individual financial or professional advice. Please seek independent financial or professional advice if you have concerns or specific questions relating to your money and situation.