posted on July 24, 2001 06:04:23 AM new
The following blurb was part of The Dollar Stretcher newsletter I receive via email:
quote:
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I have a consumer warning for those who shop online. I recently received the bill for my credit card. We rarely use our card, but find it convenient for shopping the internet, on secured sites, as we've all been warned. Upon checking the items charged, we came upon a charge that my husband and I did not recognize. We called
the number listed next to the charge, and found it to be to an adult web site. Knowing that this had to be a mistake, we called our credit card company, and found that there had been another charge to an adult website and a $400 Western Union transaction. Our number had been stolen, and we quickly closed the account. We've never had this happen before and have heeded all the warnings about shopping online. Realizing that the number could have been stolen a number of ways, we remembered a warning we received within the last year from a popular online computer parts auction site. My husband shops their site, and has an account set up with them. Their site had been hacked, and they believed they caught the
intrusion before any personal information was tampered with, but they notified credit card companies as a precaution. Naively, (another word for stupid), we did nothing. We're still in the process of finding out how the number was stolen. But as a reminder to all, check your credit statements consistently, heed all the warnings about shopping online (secured sites only), and be aware that although you are shopping a secured site, that information could still be tampered with. I know I'm going to be EXTRA careful in the future.
S.H.
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As a side note, a friend that I work with, who is in our Systems department, told me last week that for the first time ever, she'd had her cc used too. It was the card they use for Amazon purchases, and when she got her statement last month there were 2 unfamiliar charges, one for $2.95 and another for $25.00. When she called the cc company to check it out, she found that both charges were to an adult website. The cc company cancelled those charges and changed her card number so future charges couldn't be made. And this was from a SECURE site, i.e. Amazon. She is never using her cc to purchasing anything online again. Once bitten, twice shy.
Just a reminder that even tho sites are "secure" they're still prone to hacking and theft. So check your statements CAREFULLY and act IMMEDIATELY if anything seems out of whack.
posted on July 24, 2001 07:29:37 AM new
I have a card that I only use online......last month I received a bill for nearly $300, & I had not used the card at all! I did get the charges reversed, but not without a hassle. I am positive it was picked up online somewhere, I never use it anywhere else.
posted on July 24, 2001 10:16:37 AM new
Security-wise, a few years ago, the primary concern was over the initial sending of the CC# being eavesdropped on. Now with most, if not all, major e-commerce sites and many of the smaller ones going to much more secure communication, it is the storage of such information that is attracting increasing attention; i.e. how well secured is the information after the transaction has been made.
It sounds like too many companies keep CC information on Web-connected systems even after the transaction, either for their own convenience, or perhaps your "convenience" (recognizing your ID from prior purchases and filling in the CC info for you, instead of having you type it in again). Also, some might be having trouble with their own employees (but this could afflict "brick & mortar" stores as well).
Unfortunately, other than hearing of incidents at companies and perhaps deciding it's a bad sign and not shopping there, I don't know of a forward-looking way of knowing, as a consumer, who does a better job securing your information.
Beyond that, all I could suggest is finding a card for online purchases that seems like it wouldn't put you through a ton of hassle to undo such thefts, and use it strictly as a "side" card for online transactions, maybe keeping a lower credit limit on it.
Still, don't forget about the communication part. Even if you consider the storage issue to be low risk, doesn't mean you should send CC information over less secure pages. Be alert.
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What's being done in the name of direct marketing nowadays is crazy.
The above are all just my opinions, except where I cite facts as such.
Oh, I am not dc9a320 anywhere except AW. Any others are not me.
Is eBay is changing from a world bazaar into a bizarre world?
