There are many people who still fear buying items or services on the internet because they worry about identity theft or credit card fraud. While these are natural concerns, it's important to note that there have been many advancements in credit card security, and in particular, protection for online purchases. Shopping online is not all that much different from shopping in person as far as security is concerned. Certain cards have special security features intended just for online purchases, and include password protection and single use credit card numbers.



Web sites that accept credit cards typically offer an additional layer of protection as well, by encrypting the information (credit card numbers) as it is sent from your computer to theirs. In fact, someone who is intelligent enough to decrypt such information is probably intelligent enough to create a self-generating credit card system, and make their own credit card cards with fake account numbers! Before making a purchase on a website, just make sure that there is a secure label someplace on the page, usually "SSL". Also, you can check to be sure that the domain starts with "https"; the "s" is to show you that it is a secure site.

Using credit cards online gives you purchase protection, in addition to security protection. If you make a purchase from an online merchant that does not delivery on their promise for what you expected to receive, or the item is never sent, your credit card offers protection. You will not have to pay for an item that is not as described. Also, if the item arrives in the mail broken or gets lost before you receive it, in most cases your purchase protection will allow you to return the item or obtain a new one.

Visa, among other credit card lenders, have come up with a way to password protect your credit card. Whenever you are shopping online, you will be required to input your special password before you can make the purchase. This protects you against people who have obtained your credit card number or have the card itself and are attempting to make purchases with it. As long as you don't store your password with your card, this layer of protection should make it impossible for someone else to use your credit card.

Many cards are currently offering single use credit card numbers for shopping online. Each time you make an online purchase, the credit card company issues a secondary card number, which will be used for that single purchase only. Once your transaction has been entered with your single use card number, you (or anyone else who may have seen the transmission or is waiting on the other end of the website for your card information!) will not be able to use that particular number again to make another purchase.

If the worst happens- and someone does happen to get your credit card number or the card itself- if you report the fraud the moment you notice it on a statement, or the moment you notice the card is not in your wallet- you will not be held liable for charges made on that card. In fact, it is the retail stores that take the biggest beating when it comes to credit card fraud, not the consumer. Shopping online is as safe, if not safer, than shopping at the store or over the phone thanks to the plastic protection your credit cards provide.