7 Tips for Safe Online Transactions

There are many reasons to be vigilant while making payments online. Online frauds are on a historic rise these days. According to a shocking statistic from Juniper Research in 2016, up to 70% of all types of credit card frauds are mainly the card not present (CNP) transactions.

Both merchants and customers are targeted by these scammers in the United States. In the September month alone of 2014, 52% of total online attacks were recorded in the US. According to Juniper, the major factors leading to the astounding rates of online payment frauds are use of mobile payments, unprecedented growth of e-commerce, manifold increase in money flows worldwide, data breaches and Card Not Present fraud influx.

There are different types of fraud in the e-commerce space and those frauds include clean fraud, account takeover, triangulation fraud, affiliate fraud, Merchant fraud, identity fraud, and reshipping.

Here are seven tips for safe online transactions.

1. Use advanced anti-malware program
It will protect both classified and unclassified attacks on your computer and other digital devices you are using. Make sure your anti-malware program is updated or its auto update option is “on”. Make sure that the antivirus program is able to detect newly created and mutated malware threats even before it’s included in the database of the automatic updates.

2. Watch out for security vulnerabilities in your PC
Some of the malware programs are designed to manipulate the security vulnerabilities in the OS and web browsers and steal your financial data. You can run System Mechanic security optimizer, which will detect and fix such vulnerabilities in both the web browser and the operating system. Always keep your web browser and operating system up to date.

3. Make sure you are using a secure connection
When you are using a secured connection the URL begins with https://, but in all other cases it begins with http://. So make sure you are using https.

4. Deal with reputed websites only
Do not directly pay to any website unless you know about it. The advanced security features used in payment processor such as PayTabs will prevent your financial information from getting into wrong hands.

Using PayTabs is the best way to stay protected against suspicious websites and online crooks. The advance security features used by PayTabs will make sure that your confidential financial information is safe without any possibility of leaking.

5. Use credit cards for online shopping
There is a word of caution for all online shoppers: Make sure you perform online shopping using a credit card and not a debit card. What makes using debit card extremely risky is the fact that it is linked to your bank account.

With spending limit, credit cards cannot be misused to the extent a debit card can be. It is pretty easy to dispute fraudulent charges on a credit card as compared to recovering the money taken out from a debit card.

These days, onetime use credit cards are also in fashion. These cards are designed specifically for online shopping.

6. Do not use public computers
In order to maintain security during online transactions, make sure that you’re using your own computer or mobile device. Do not use the computers installed at public libraries or internet cafes, as these computers can easily be manipulated by tweaking its hardware or software.

7. Set a strong and complex password
Don’t use common passwords or the password that can easily be guessed. Use a combination of alphanumeric and special characters and make sure the password length is more than 6 digits.

Final words
If you suspect that your credit card has been misused, you can immediately inform your bank. If you are in the US, you can contact agencies like Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax. The sooner you report, the better it is. Your alarm bells should ring if the offer given is too good to be true. Always buy from a trusted vendor and check their address and contact details.