5 Security Tips to Use Credit Cards for Online Transactions

5 Security Tips to Use Credit Cards for Online Transactions

By Tarun Wig

Nowadays, online purchasing has become a preferred and rewarding mode of shopping. Using credit cards for buying or paying utility bills has become routine. Most card users do this without bothering about the risks involved in online shopping, especially through credit cards. 

Follow these tips for the safe and secured use of credit cards:

Use https:// sites for online transactions

Make sure the website link you are using to make your transaction is secured. 

Look for the link that starts with 'https://' rather than 'http://'. The additional 's' after 'http' refers to 'secure'. 

It means this website is equipped with Website Security feature. The 'http' sites do not offer the security feature and savvy criminals can record your credit card or debit cards which you enter while making online transactions. One can also identify secured sites by finding a small lock icon in the lower right corner of the screen.

Don't shop publically

Don't use cyber cafes or public internet platforms to do any online shopping or making transactions that involve the use of credit card or debit card. Either do it on your own personal computer, laptop or mobile or choose the safer 'cash on delivery' option. Hackers let loose malicious software which install themselves in your computer and record anything and everything you type on your keyboard. 

This allows hackers to easily get access to your personal information and misuse the same. You can install anti-malware or anti-virus systems to protect your own devices from being hacked.

Use hard-to-crack passwords

Passwords are the first step towards protecting your confidential information from hackers. Create hard-to-crack passwords. 

Tough passwords constitute of a combination of lowercase and capital alphabets, punctuation, symbols, special characters (@$%#^*()) and numbers (1,2,3). 

Avoid using any meaningful word from any language, names of places or persons or anything that is predictable. There are some software programs that crack easy password through "dictionary attacks".

For example: ZsD18@!u(. is considered as a strong password (though it is hard to remember).

Beware of a phishing hook

Don't respond to e-mails that claim to be sent by your credit card company and ask for account details such as credit card number, full name, CVV number or PIN. You must have seen notifications in banks' branches, ATMs and websites that bank and credit card companies NEVER ask you to provide your personal details. 

Also, don't click on suspicious or spam links from an unknown sender. It may be a phishing hook by hacker.

Activate two factor authentication

Almost all banks offer two factor authentication for online transactions where you receive a onetime password (OTP) at your device - mobile, computer or USB. The 2 factor authentication service is optional and you need to activate it for ensuring the security of your personal details.

Basic Guidelines

Follow these guidelines while using credit card for online transactions: 

* Clear cache and cookies from the browser after every transaction

* Ask your bank if it can provide you with a special credit card for use online. 

* Never email your credit card number as there are some hacking software that track email communication for specific keywords associated with credit card transactions

* Prefer only renowned and 3D security gateway-enabled websites for online shopping.

About the Author : Tarun Wig is an entrepreneur and founder of INNEFU - an information Security consulting group that specializes in meeting the Information Security needs of the consumer. He likes writing about the growing importance of two factor authentication , multiple token generators such as hard token, soft token and more.

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