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Worried about using your credit card over the internet?
Many people have emailed me expressing reservations
about over-the-web credit card purchases. Many think that that hackers
will hijack the card number en-route to the server. Others think that
they will get ripped off. The truth of the matter is that it is a lot
more risky to use your card in a shop or hotel than it is to purchase
services or goods on the world wide web. Dishonest staff of large establishments
can make a copy of your card details and sell them to crime syndicates.
The same thing can happen in small shops, especially in Asia. The risk
you take is even greater when you physically hand over your card to a
stranger compared to sending it in encrypted form through the internet.
No matter what method is used to hijack your card number, all you have
to do to protect yourself is to simply check your statement every month
and dispute any unauthorised charges you find on your bill. I was once
billed by a porn site for an extra month after I cancelled my account.
All I had to do to reverse the charges was to write in to my visa card
company and tell them what happened. The charges were reversed with no
problems whatsoever.
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