8 responses to “How safe is it to use your credit card to buy products online?”

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  pathfinder October 8th, 2010 at 03:01

  Reginald

  Check to see if the tranaction is on a secured site [with the padlock icon]. If it is, it is safe,

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  pcrepair76 October 8th, 2010 at 14:05

  Kelly

  Buy a prepaid credit card. That way you wont run the risk of any unauthorized purchaces or other charges from the vendor

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  vickie m October 9th, 2010 at 19:16

  Kimberly

  Just make sure you use a secure site, I have been doing this and it’s worked out ok.

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  Sailorman October 10th, 2010 at 12:56

  Maurice

  I am skeptical of smaller “overseas” operations on the internet. Consumer protection laws are NOT the same everywhere and it is more difficult to identify fraudulent merchants when their base of operations is not in your home country.

  Caveat Emptor

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  jackie b October 12th, 2010 at 15:41

  Mary

  well, I shop on line and i use the credit card for a lot of stuff.
  how big of a firm i know u said not big big ones but are u shopping for clothing? if you are and you are shopping at well known company then don’t worry about it! if you are shopping over seas like you said then ask around see if other People in Italy. i buy these amazing bottles of soap and olive oil and nothing ever happens to me!! like i said ask around!
  also if you are really iffy about it buy a pre paid credit card so you dont have to worry about fraud

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  Bugs Bunny October 13th, 2010 at 14:15

  Darlene

  You can find out only if the seller and you meet. You guys can trade money that way instead of giving the person your details.bldadfd

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  elmina October 15th, 2010 at 01:42

  Mildred

  If you observe all the security stuff, such as making sure it is an HTTPS page, and that there is a little gold padlock icon on your bar, it is quite safe.

  It is about as safe as doing a personal transaction in a shop – how do you know the shop person will not make an illegal transaction the minute you leave? How do you know that only one transaction is made when you hand your card over in a fancy restaurant?

  Some people use one credit card only for online purchases, one with a low credit limit. Or better still, use a debit card instead. A debit card works in much the same way as a credit card, only it uses money you have in it, rather than lend you the amount.

  In this way, if illegal transactions are made, they can only take you for what’s in the account, rather than to the full extent of your credit.

  Of course, you must be aware that caution is always good – if the site is not a big one wait a while and see whether it seems to be trading well. Try to find happy shoppers of theirs. See if they have a feedback system. Put the name in a search engine and see if anyone has filed complaints about them.

  Organisations like PayPal allow you to make online purchases without disclosing your credit card details to the person from whom you are buying.

  Caution online must match the caution you use in other transactions. Be practical, use your common sense and don’t take silly risks.

  Good luck

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  Olivier R October 15th, 2010 at 10:53

  Scott

  To my view online transactions are very unsafe with credit card. Even if the site is secured (eg https) you still provide info that can be reused. It’s like giving signed blank cheques and pray their won’t be used…
  What is the point of these security features (magnetic band, secret code and smart card) if at the end the payment is achieved with the card number and validity date?

  Nevertheless, most of the bank in Europe now offer an electronic card. Through a web access it generates a new card number and validity date for a given amount only. Hence the info you provide can’t be re-used.
  Lastly, I think that in case of abuse, you “just” need to report it to the bank and the bank MUST reimburse the fraudulent purchase.