When we pay for anything online, we trust the company on the receiving end to make sure our personal and financial details as safe as possible. While retailers do all they can to make sure our data is protected, there are unfortunately a lot of people out there who would like to get their hands on it.
With merchants doing all they can to make sure your data is safe, you need to make sure you are doing your part too, by following some simple rules and processes. Here’s a look at some of the things you can do to make sure your money stays safe online.
Credit cards
Credit cards offer a greater level of protection than debit cards when shopping online because when you buy anything worth between £100 and £60,620, the credit card issuer is jointly liable with the merchant if the goods turn out to be faulty or just don’t turn up at all.
Prepaid Cards
If you’re uneasy about using your credit car online, you could always opt for a prepaid card, which limits the risk of shopping online. They work like a pay-as-you-go debit card which you pre-load with cash from your bank account.
The card only allows you to spend the amount you added to it and it doesn’t have a credit facility. This means that even if someone did get hold of the card details, at least they can only spend the balance on the card.
Transfers
If you’re making an international money transfer then what’s as important as checking the exchange rate and charges is making sure that the company is reputable.
Check how long the company has been in business, that they are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and that they are registered with HMRC as an overseas money services business.
If they are FSA regulated it means they have to adhere to the strict guidelines set down by the authority.
General safety
When you’re online, make sure that the address of the site you're buying from has "https" at the start, before you start divulging any personal or financial details.
A small locked padlock icon in your web browser frame indicates that a page is secure. It must be in the web browser frame though, don’t trust the site if the padlock is simply on the web page, as anyone can do that.
It’s good practice to just keep your anti-virus software up to date and to run frequent scans on your system. There are programs available for free online, but many are scams which will do more harm than good. Read some reviews and invest in some robust software to protect you against malware, Trojans and key loggers.
Finally, whenever possible, just buy from trusted sites. If a deal looks too good to be true then it probably is, and you shouldn’t trust the site with your details.