The Internet has become a universal market for goods and services. How does this affect you? If you want to buy merchandise from an Internet store, it is important to ensure that there is a secure online payment solution before you give up your credit card number. In this way you can be sure your payment and information reaches its final destination, and does not end up in the hands of a hacker or worse, an identity thief.
Data security breaches, identity theft and phishing continue to top the list of complaints filed by defrauded online shoppers. For this reason, e-commerce sites need to set up trusted payment gateways that enable their customers to safely pay by credit or debit card. One of the most popular is Moneybookers, an online payment solution that has extremely high secure transaction rates.
In addition to ecommerce sites beefing up their payment security, outfits like online casinos, money transfer service companies and even governments are getting in on the act. Two agencies in the Philippines recently sanctioned a proposed executive order to set up a system that will allow government offices to keep online transactions secure using “digital signatures.”
Online shopping safety has become even more crucial in these tough economic times. Legitimate online sellers are now embracing the best and most efficient security measures to protect their customers. E-commerce sites are now voluntarily using secure transaction methods when customers order and pay for products, in order to prevent credit card and other information from being stolen.
The money transfer service used by many online casinos is extremely secure. This service, called an instant wire transfer, works in the same way as a transfer done in a bank, except that it clears immediately, once bank verification is received.
Besides Moneybookers, there are several other credit card processors that cater to Internet-only businesses. While most of these are reputable, you should never fill out an order form or use a shopping cart on a site if it isn’t secure. If the web address in your browser’s address bar starts with https:// that is a good indication that you’re shopping on a secure site that values your privacy and your business because they are using SSL or TLS protocol to encrypt information.