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By Sandra Stammberger
Commerce and technology, combined as a one package – this is
what online credit cards are. With the advent of internet, the
knowledge and communication barriers were broken. Also, with
internet, came the concept of e-shops or virtual shops that
existed only on the internet. You could shop at these shops by
making use of their online credit card payment-acceptance
ability. Once the online credit card payments were verified
and
approved, the goods got delivered to your door. This is what
we
call convenience at its best.
With more and more e-shops getting setup everyday, online
credit card usage is becoming even more popular. The
possibility of receiving online credit card payments has given
a totally new dimension to shopping. Now, you can not only
shop
from the comfort of your home, you can even get discounts on
these products. This is really amazing. No need to bother
about
the weather, no need to worry about the traffic jams or any
other thing. Just go to an e-shop, select a product, make use
of their online credit card payment-acceptance facility to
make
the payment and be ready to receive the goods at your
doorstep.
With online credit card processing facility, starting a
business (an online business) has become just unbelievably
easy.
However, there is nothing without pitfalls. One of the
pitfalls
of online credit card usage is the possibility of online
credit
card fraud. This online credit card fraud can happen in two
ways. The first one is related to the company, on whose
website
you made online credit card payment for purchase of goods;
this
company itself could be fraudulent i.e. it could take the
online credit card payment from you but not deliver the goods
to you. Moreover, they could use the details of your credit
card (received through the filling up of online credit card
payment form by you) for fraudulent purposes. The second type
of fraud is committed by fraudsters who use various
softwares/devices to capture the details of online credit card
payments (as you enter them on the online credit card payment
form of a website). These softwares are popularly known as
spyware and these fraudsters as online spies. The spyware
works
by capturing keystrokes or taking screenshots of whatever you
do
on your computer and then passes it on to the spy. However,
there are anti-spyware softwares available which can be used
to
counter such spyware.
So, the advent of online credit card usage facility is a boon
to us. However, you must exercise caution when making online
credit card payments e.g. don’t access your bank accounts or
make online credit card payments from internet cafes (unless
you are absolutely sure about the credentials of the internet
café).
About The Author: Sandra Stammberger is the owner of Money
Management Center. A guide to credit cards, budgeting, and
credit use. For more information visit
www.money-management-center.com/
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