Check that an ecommerce component is secure. Look for the security seal indicating that it has been scanned and verified as secure by a trusted third party. This security seal indicates that the site will protect you from identity theft, credit card fraud, spam and other malicious threats.
Also, check to see if our site uses encryption—or scrambling—when transmitting information over the Internet. You might ask how you can do that, but it’s not hard to verify encryption – you can do it one of two ways:
- Look for the symbol of a lock on the page.
- Check to make sure that the web address starts with https://, rather than http:// which indicates that encryption is being used.
We recommend that you do not use a public computer to shop online, since computers save or “cache” information to speed up your Internet experience. That means if you are using a public computer, information such as your browsing history and even your login information may be accessible to strangers who use the computer after you.
Only use a secure connection when you place your order. Never shop using an unsecured wireless network (let’s say at a local coffee house or while waiting in an airport terminal) because hackers can access your payment information if the network is not protected.
Here’s a good rule to follow: To protect yourself, do all of your online shopping from your secure home computer.