Internet Shopping - How Safe Is It?

Millions of people make purchases online, but many people are still wary. They fear the unknown and have many doubts and questions about who they are dealing with. They are afraid of being scammed, and rightfully so. Online shopping can be a completely safe and rewarding experience provided you are dealing with a legitimate, reputable retailer. But how do you know if they are legitimate??? Here lies the "fear of the unknown."

Well, as with anything in life, there are precautions to take, questions you should ask yourself, and signs to look out for. Provided you are careful with who you decide to purchase from, online shopping can be a very convenient and pleasurable experience.

Important Safety Precautions:

Take a good look around the website. Make sure you read their Privacy Policy. A privacy policy let's you know the procedures and methods they have in place to secure your personal information. Find the answers to these questions...Do they share your information with others? Some companies sell or distribute your information to other companies. You may wind up on everybody's mailing list. Do they have security measures in place to protect your information (i.e. SSL)? SSL is the abbreviation for Secured Socket Layer. SSL is security software that encrypts information transmitted between browsers. What this means in layman's terms is that your personal information such as name, address, credit card number, etc. is coded or scrambled so that anyone who may try to intercept this information as it is transmitting cannot read it. But don't just rely on them telling you that their site is secure, check for yourself. You will know when you are in a secure browser by looking at the bottom browser bar on your computer (lower right). If the browser is secure, you will see a security lock image. Also check the web address in your top browser bar. Secure web addresses begin with "https" whereas, non-secure pages begin with "http."

Setting up accounts with online stores is quite common. However, many people are leery of this because they don't understand why it is sometimes necessary. Generally, the only information you are providing is your name, address, email address, and sometimes your phone number. This is all necessary information that the store needs in order to ship your order or contact you regarding your order. Setting up an account with the retailer usually provides you with additional such as tracking the status of your order. On the other hand, if the account set-up asks for more than just your basic contact information, then you may not want to proceed. You should not be required to provide your social security number, bank account number, or birthdate. This information is much more personal and should not be necessary to have an order shipped.

Read the shipping and returns policies before making a purchase. Make sure you feel comfortable with them. Find answers to these questions...What is their shipping timeframe? Is it within a reasonable amount of time? Will they notify you if it will take longer than anticipated? What choices will you have then? Do they allow returns? Are there restrictions on what items you can return and explanations as to why? Do they make sense?

Don't make huge purchases right off the bat. Make a small, low cost purchase with the company and consider it a low-risk test of their credibility. This allows the retailer a chance to prove themselves worthy of your business, but limits the monetary risk you are taking. Should all go well, you can make a larger purchase in the future with peace of mind, now knowing that this is a legitimate business.

There are many advantages to purchasing online and as long as you are careful with who you choose to deal with you can reap the rewards.

Here are some of the benefits:

Convenience: Why fight the crowds in the stores, especially during the holidays, when you can sit at home on your computer and shop. And price comparisons are just a click away when shopping on the internet. There's no need to fight traffic running from store to store looking for the "best deal." You can have your purchase delivered to your doorstep within a few days.

Prices: Online retailers and storefronts purchase their products from the same manufacturers. However, an online retailer doesn't have the costly overhead that a storefront has (i.e. Lease payments on the building, heat and electric, just to name a few). Therefore, the online retailer doesn't have to markup the price as much as the storefront in order to make the same profit. So you, the consumer, come out the winner!

Store Hours: Online retailers are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Shop at your convenience.

So as long as you take some simple precautions, shopping online can be a very pleasurable, time saving and money saving experience.

For safe shopping, great prices on lingerie, and excellent customer service, please visit our store at http://www.gottahavitny.com

---

Dont Allow Hackers to Take Out Money from Your Bank Account

If you know what is the 'Fishing' then it's very... Read More

The Importance of Protecting Your PC from Viruses and Spam

Today the internet is a mine field of malicious code... Read More

Delete Cookies: New-Age Diet or Common Sense Internet Security?

No, this article isn't about some new, lose-20-pounds-in-a-week, certified-by-some-tan-Southern-California-doctor diet.... Read More

Phishing ? Its Signs and Your Options

Phishing is the act of some individual sending an email... Read More

Online Shopping: 10 Tips For Safe Online Shopping

Have you ever bought a product or service from the... Read More

Is Your Email Private? Part 1 of 3

In a word, no - an email message has always... Read More

File Sharing - What You Need to Know!

File sharing on p2p is soaring despite the music and... Read More

Hacked: Who Else Is Using Your Computer?

A friend called me one day and asked if I... Read More

Lottery Scam, What It is and how to Avoid It?

Internet scams and frauds are on the rise! The quantity... Read More

An Open Letter From a So-called Stupid

Someone recently told me, "You would have to be a... Read More

Firewalls: What They Are And Why You MUST Have One!

A firewall is a system or gateway that prevents unauthorized... Read More

Crack The Code - Thats A Direct Challenge

I Challenge You To Crack The Code ------------------------------------- I had... Read More

With the Rise of Internet Crimes, Users are Turning to High-Tech ?PI?s? for Solutions

High-tech private investigators are becoming the answer for many Internet... Read More

Ransom Trojan Uses Cryptography for Malicious Purpose

Every day millions of people go online to find information,... Read More

Web Conferencing Readers - So What Do We Do with the PAYPAL SPAMMER

From: "Paypal Security" Subject: New Security Requirements Date: Tue, 26... Read More

Make Money Online - Defend Against The Latest Scam

First, let's do a little recap'. As I stated in... Read More

Criminals are Fishing For Your Identity

What is Phishing? In a typical Phishing attack, a criminal... Read More

Desktop Security Software Risks - Part 1

This is the second in a series of articles highlighting... Read More

Spyware Attacks! Windows Safe Mode is No Longer Safe

Many of us have run into an annoying and time-consuming... Read More

Make Money Online - Latest Scam Disclosed

Before we start, I want to make it clear that... Read More

Protecting Your Home Both Inside and Out

If you are a parent, you have probably wondered at... Read More

Social Engineering: You Have Been A Victim

Monday morning, 6am; the electric rooster is telling you it's... Read More

Dont be a Dork ? Protect Yourself

There are folks out there who use their powers for... Read More

Types Of Computer Infections

Computer infections can be broken up into 4 main categories... Read More

Be Aware of Phishing Scams!

If you use emails actively in your communication, you must... Read More

How to Protect Yourself from Viruses, Spyware, Adware, and Other Nuisances

Spyware/adware is a new major concern for PC users everywhere.... Read More

Internet/Network Security

Abstract Homogeneous symmetries and congestion control have garnered limited interest... Read More

Top Ten Spyware and Adware Threats Identified

On December 8, 2004 Webroot, an award winning anti-spyware solution... Read More

Beware of Imitations! Security, Internet Scams, and the African Real Estate Agenda

Fishing on the Internet has come a long way. However,... Read More

Why Corporations Need to Worry About Phishing

Phishing is a relatively new form of online fraud that... Read More

Phishing - A High Tech Identity Theft With A Low Tech Solution

Have you ever got an email asking you to confirm... Read More

Burning Bridges is Bad, But Firewalls are Good

When you signed up for that ultra-fast DSL or Cable... Read More

Mall Protection

The Loss Prevention Manager should be receptive to the needs... Read More