The Risk of Online Shopping
The convenience of online shopping is unprecedented. And, undoubtedly, it’s here to stay. It’s great to be able to buy everything from movies to plane tickets to running shoes without having to leave the house.
But, of course, with all that convenience comes a certain amount of risk. When we buy things online, we take the risk of having our payment information stolen. There are people out there who use their technical know-how to circumvent security measures and steal our card and/or account numbers when we enter them online. It’s an unfortunate fact, for sure, but a fact nonetheless.
Reducing the Risk: Use Credit Cards Instead of Debit Cards
As in other areas of our lives, however, we shouldn’t let the risk of theft cause us to live in paranoia. Instead, we should take responsible and reasonable measures to protect ourselves. To protect our homes from break-ins, for instance, we lock our doors and install security systems.
To protect our online transactions, one easy yet effective step we can take is to always use credit cards instead of debit cards when making purchases on the internet. The rationale here is that when you use your debit card, any charges made hit your bank account directly. So if someone gains access to your payment information online and fraudulently uses it to make purchases, you lose the money directly from your account. With a credit card, however, you at least have the buffer of a 30-day billing cycle, which gives you time to work on having the charges reversed--hopefully before you ever have to pay them.
Of course, this step does not rule out all risk of theft. But it does give you more options and reduce the risk of loss in the event that your information is stolen. As always, feel free to contact us if our suggestions raise any questions. And happy—and safe—shopping!