Ecommerce: How to Keep Your Transaction Safe

Electronic commerce (ecommerce) is the buying and selling of commodities via the Internet. It is gaining widespread use and acceptability and is a rapidly growing method of doing business. The most common way of conducting ecommerce is on the World Wide Web.

Ecommerce usually requires providing private information via the Web to the merchant from whom you are buying something. This information might include a credit card number along with the name and expiration date on the card. It is important that only the specific merchant you are doing business with be able to obtain this information.

Tips to Keep in Mind

What follows are a few tips to consider before and while using the Web to do business.

Use Secure Technology. Probably the most important thing you can do is to verify that the merchant uses secure ecommerce technology. Look on your merchant's Web site for information on how their use of technology will protect your transaction. Some merchants provide some sort of guarantee.

Connect to Correct Web Address. Verify that you are connected to the Web site of the business to which you intend to send private information. Examine the address you think you should be connected to and if it looks questionable, investigate further. See also "What Is Web Spoofing?"

An "https" in the location line means an encrypted transaction. Clicking on the padlock (in Netscape) brings up a security information window.

Use an Encrypted Session. Before sending any private information, make certain your session is encrypted. This means you will see the prefix "https:" instead of "http:" in the URL in your browser's address window. The "s" in the "https:" prefix shows that the communications channel is being encrypted with a protocol called SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), and therefore cannot be sniffed.

Check for Security Symbols. Some browsers have a padlock or key displayed in the lower left-hand corner. These are security symbols that tell you if your data is being encrypted before it is sent to the server. If it is encrypted, then the padlock will be locked, or the key will be solid. If it is not encrypted, then the padlock will be open, or the key will be broken. If you are entering private information into a Web form, you will want to check to be sure your transaction is encrypted.

Keep a Record. Print screens after you fill them out and just before you submit them so you have a paper record of your transaction. This will be useful if you need to contact the credit card company or merchant and are asked to provide evidence of your transaction.

It Pays to Know