Ken Muller asked:




Credit card Internet fraud is one of the most common crimes in cyber space today. It can be as simple as being charged for a dollar online purchase and then the merchant using the card to charge other purchases. This is much easier for a thief than the old fashioned way of actually stealing the credit card and account details. It affects not only the card holders, but the merchants as well. Each year, hundreds of millions of dollars are lost to fraud. As well as business, for example: some people may shy away to charging online and as a consequence business is lost to honest merchants.

While most countries have done their part in preventing card fraud, there are still isolated incidents of this cyber crime. There are several ways to avoid this depletion of your financial resources. Perhaps the most important way is by keeping informed.

Accurate Financial Records

Personal vigilance is one of the keys to prevent this fraud. Maintaining up-to-date personal financial records keeps a credit card user aware of purchases made under his or her name. Card issuers often send out the billing statement a month before the payment due date. This allows the card holder ample time to verify and dispute questionable purchases. Billing statements should be kept and filed for at least a year for reference. They should be shredded before discarding. In making online purchases, the card holder should be on the lookout for the secure sign (https:) in the front of the domain name listing of the merchant’s website. When a site looks suspicious, the purchase should not be made.

Online Credit Card Security for Merchants

Online merchants should also be aware of ways to avoid credit card fraud. Extra steps in the online purchasing process can be added to provide more security. Follow-up email is one simple add-on. Before pushing through the purchase, a verification email should be first sent to the card holder and will only proceed once the purchase is verified. A telephone call may also be made as part of the verification process as email accounts can be hacked easily by cyber thieves. There should also be efforts to invest in software or Internet tools to protect online transactions. The website should be using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Web protocol. This can be requested from the hosting company of the third-party website administrator.

Online merchants should also be aware of the “carding” technique where credit card thieves try to make small donations to non-profit sites using a stolen card to test their validity. Seeing small purchases made successively by just one credit card account will show online merchants that cyber thieves are using the credit card possibly in a suspicious manner.

Suspicious Small Charges

You should always examine your credit card billing statements every month to look for very small charges as little as 25 or 30 cents. This is a scam in which a thief will charge several hundred or more cards a very small amount, in this way the crook can accumulate a good bit of money without attracting the attention of the card holders. Report any small charges you can not account for to your card services and don’t pay them.

FTC can Help

In instances of credit card fraud, the public may seek assistance from the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov. The Federal Trade Commission helps by sending these instances, whether online or offline, to Consumer Sentinel. Consumer Sentinel, on the other hand, makes its online database available to law enforcement agencies in the United States and overseas.

Avoiding credit card fraud does not only allow card holders to dodge financial hassles, but also to maintain an excellent credit rating. Security from this fraud starts with being informed. That is why it is important that you understand your credit card bill. Armed with the proper information, card holders and online merchants can effectively make preventive and reactive measures to stop online fraud.

Jay

Peter Lisdorf asked:




Purchasing on the web is made much simpler with prepaid virtual credit cards. Such virtual prepaid cards present a variety of safety and privacy benefits, which attract some customers.

These cards are fundamentally an internet based prepaid card account. A customer can make use of their card data to expend funds in the internet as one would accomplish by a standard credit card. The main specialty here is that they aren’t permissible for a regular plastic card. Every transaction can be made through the internet.

Importance of Online Credit Cards

Many people simply are bothered on the subject of employing their conventional credit card for online purchasing. Having account details stolen or embezzled can show the way to troubles with ID thievery and scam. Additionally, restoring a card can be a lengthy process. Shoppers like this answer as it permits them to buy confidentially and anonymously. Some virtual card issuers even offer the latest technology for highest security and generate one-time use card numbers for safer online shopping.

How do it Works?

Prepaid online charge cards work like any other card, although are the online account based. Such accounts are compensated via web and while a customer purchase minimally uses their virtual card number as if they were having regular charge cards. A good number of prepaid virtual cards work on prepaid resources and no means of credit can be supplied. The consumer just registers a virtual account and credits the funds into it to finance their card expenses.

How much charges are deducted?

These prepaid virtual cards will have some form of fees included with them. This is the technique the issuer makes their profit. This will differ from one card issuer to another, however could comprise:

One-off fee to register the account Monthly account charge Charges while money is funded on to the online credit card Charges while shopping are made

These extra charges can be made on a ratio basis or as a flat cost. It is worth purchasing around for the most excellent deal here to evade paying for avoidable fees. The most important aspect to think about while preferring prepaid virtual cards for most individuals is, although, how much it will rate. All of these cards come with a payment system, although they don’t all incriminate in the analogous means. Comparing online funds and terms is straightforward to do and possibly will compose it a lot simpler to prefer the precise product.

So, you can construct your online deal safe by means of virtual or prepaid card too.

Tyrone

C.R. Hayes asked:


Many times when you choose to fill out an application on the internet, online credit card approval can be done instantly. You are asked to give the same information as you would on a paper application that comes in your postal mail box. But rather than wait for the mail delivery and processing time, some people are more anxious to receive notification instantly.

Card issuers use the latest high-tech secure programming and fraud protection to protect the data you enter. So there is no need to worry about just where your financial information will end up. Make sure though, that the web address in your browser bar begins with ‘https’, which signifies a secure internet connection.

One of the biggest advantages of searching and applying online is that you can do side by side comparisons for different bankcards offered by different providers. You can also narrow them by the category you need, such as:



0 interest

bad credit

travel rewards

those for college students

cash back cards

and more



When you get your choices narrowed down, you need to compare all of the fees associated, like:



annual fee

APR

interest rate

late fees

any other cost that may apply



You will want to know how long any promotional rates will last too, if applicable. It’s not uncommon to find that 0 interest rates can apply up to the first 6 to 18 months of your account.

If you are more inclined to opt for travel rewards or cash back features, make sure you get the most benefits and perks you can while still keeping your fees and interest rate as low as possible.

Before you apply, it would be a good idea to get a copy of your latest credit report and know your credit rating. After all, issuers base your acceptance according to your credit score. The higher your score, the better deal you will be offered and approved for.

Everyone in the U.S. is allowed one free copy of their credit report every 12 months. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires this of each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can order yours by phone by calling 1-877-322-8228, or by visiting annualcreditreport.com.

Online credit card approval can be both instant and convenient for the application and approval process, but you will usually have to wait for the actual card to arrive in your mailbox before you can use it. Nevertheless, you will still receive it sooner than if the entire process was done through the mail.



ISRAEL