Online Security – Your Responsibilities as a Consumer

 by: Julie Martin

As a consumer, there are certain responsibilities that are inherent to online security. While some may find this hard to believe, there are actual steps you must take while shopping online to insure and protect your personal information.

Is the site secure? Most e-businesses offer secure areas for payment processing. However, there are still some holdouts out there who haven’t implemented that feature on their website. If your browser doesn’t display a locked padlock icon at the bottom of your screen, then the site isn’t secure. You can set your browser to notify you before entering a secure area, to make sure that the information you are about to send is encrypted and secure.

Does the site’s privacy policy protect your information? On the other hand, does the site even have a privacy policy? If you want to make sure that your information is not sold to the highest bidder, you need to read a website’s privacy policy before making a purchase. You will need to make sure that it is clear and informs you of exactly what the site plans to do with your information. If you don’t feel comfortable with their policy, find another store. Keep in mind that even reputable companies will share your information, unless they specifically state or ask you if you prefer to keep your information private.

Email is not for credit card numbers. One of the biggest mistakes consumers make is trusting that their email containing valuable credit card information is secure. Unless you are using an encryption key, and the person receiving your email is as well, anyone with the proper knowledge could hack into that email and steal your information. Only submit credit card information or passwords through a secure site.

Be on the lookout for copycats. A common problem right now is the copycatting of popular sites, such as Paypal, Earthlink, and other Internet providers. You might receive an official looking email asking you to update your password, or your billing information. Just because it looks official doesn’t mean that it is. Check with the provider in question before changing anything. Emailed links can appear to be the real thing, but the actual web address that you are sent to will be anything but. Most providers clearly state that they will not ask you for your password or billing information via email. It is much better to be safe than sorry by falling for a carefully laid out copycat trick.

Is it really SPAM? Nearly everyone on the Internet has had at least one complaint about the amount of SPAM they receive. In fact, odds are that every day you grumble about it. Before you hit delete, or report an email as SPAM, double check to make sure that it is not an honest company, or a company you’ve done business with in the past. Many reputable retailers are being lumped in with the bad guys by overzealous SPAM haters. If you have visited the site or ordered from them before, and they previously mentioned sending emails to you in the past, think twice before reporting them as SPAM.

Ok, it is SPAM and I’m sick of it! If you zealously guard your email address and you are still getting abundant SPAM, there are steps you can take to prevent this in the future. Before giving personal information to a company, make sure they clearly state how they plan to use your information. If you belong to a message board, or similar service, your email address may be being “plucked” by a SPAM’ers software. If you do need to input an email address and you not 100% sure, it is a good idea to set up an email account with a free provider to make sure that your main email account isn’t getting drowned with SPAM.

It is possible to have a safe time shopping on the Internet. You will just need to be aware of your responsibilities and take an active role in guarding your information.