Archives - Online Shopping


Create a separate email address for online shopping and promotional subscriptions

A separate commerce email address may serve you in the following ways:

Avoid storing your credit card information on websites.

Many websites propose to store your card details for future transactions. While this offers convenience, it also carries a certain level of risk. In the event of a security breach, your card information could potentially be stolen and misused for fraudulent purchases. An alternative to this would be to manually input your card details with […]

Close credit accounts you no longer use

It’s not a good idea to have too many unused credit accounts. This introduces possible security risks, and in some cases, it may harm your credit score. You can check how many open credit accounts you have by visiting a credit bureau’s website, such as Experian, TransUnion or Equifax. You may discover you have more […]

Be careful of online stores that ask for personal info

Watch out for e-commerce sites asking for personally identifying information. E-commerce sites only really need two main data points from you: 1) your payment information, like a credit card number and 2) your shipping address. If they ask for anything else, consider finding an alternative. You don’t need to supply your Social Security number just […]

Don’t use public or shared connections for sensitive accounts

Securing your sensitive transactions online is of utmost importance. For any tasks that require your Social Security number such as managing an online bank account, buying something or performing some task, ensure that access of these activities is limited to devices you own, connected to secure networks such as your home Wi-Fi, cellular connection or […]

If you want to pay with debit online, use a third-party payment service

If you get scammed by a bad seller with your credit card information, you have ways of getting your money back. Most credit card companies have built-in protections from fraud or unauthorized transactions. However, this isn’t the case with debit cards: Losing money from a debit card purchase is far less likely to be retrieved. […]