Shopping Cart Shopping Results
Shopping on the Internet has now become commonplace. The Internet
is an exciting tool that puts vast information at your fingertips.
With a click of a mouse, it lets you buy an airline ticket, book a
hotel, send flowers to a friend, purchase your favourite item, bank
and invest online.
Shopping online offers lots of benefits that you won’t find
shopping in a store or by mail. The Internet is always open –
seven days a week, 24 hours a day – and bargains can be numerous
online. Most consumers use credit or debit cards to pay for online
purchases.
Online Payment options:
Most online shoppers use credit cards to pay for their online purchases.
But debit cards - which authorize merchants to debit your bank account
electronically - are increasing in use. To complete a debit card
transaction, you may have to use a personal identification number
(PIN), some form of a signature or other identification, or a combination
of these identifiers. Some cards have both credit and debit features:
You select the payment option at the point-of-sale. But remember,
although a debit card may look like a credit card, the money for
debit purchases is transferred almost immediately from your bank
account to the merchant's account. In addition, your liability limits
for a lost or stolen debit card and unauthorized use are different
from your liability if your credit card is lost, stolen or used
without your authorization.
Precautions:
Shopping on the Internet is no less safe than shopping in a store
or by mail. Keep the following tips in mind to help ensure that
your online shopping experience is a safe one.
•Use a secure browser - software that encrypts or scrambles
the purchase information you send over the Internet - to help guard
the security of your information as it is transmitted to a website.
When submitting your purchase information, look for the "lock"
icon on the browser's status bar, and the phrase "https"
in the URL address for a website, to be sure your information is
secure during transmission.
•Check the site's privacy policy, before you provide any
personal financial information to a website. In particular, determine
how the information will be used or shared with others. Also check
the site's statements about the security provided for your information.
Some websites' disclosures are easier to find than others - look
at the bottom of the home page, on order forms or in the "About"
or "FAQs" section of a site. If you're not comfortable
with the policy, consider doing business elsewhere.
•Read and understand the refund and shipping policies of
a website you visit, before you make your purchase. Look closely
at disclosures about the website's refund and shipping policies.
Again, search through the website for these disclosures.
•Keep your personal information private. Don't disclose your
personal information - your address, telephone number, bank account
number or e-mail address - unless you know who's collecting the
information, why they're collecting it and how they'll use it.
•Give payment information only to businesses you know and
trust, and only when and where it is appropriate - like an order
form. Never give your password to anyone online, even your Internet
service provider.
•Keep records of your online transactions and check your
e-mail for contacts by merchants with whom you're doing business.
Merchants may send you important information about your purchases.
•Review your monthly credit card and bank statements for
any errors or unauthorized purchases promptly and thoroughly. Notify
your credit or debit card issuer immediately if your credit or debit
card is lost or stolen, or if you suspect someone is using your
accounts without your permission.
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