Is the U.S. Finally Getting Smart About Payment Technology?

Online shopping has become a trend, or should I say a craze specially if you have a credit card. A lot of people today use the Internet to purchase any item or merchandise they need. Whether you are looking for new household devices, latest gadgets, school or office supplies, fashion items or even industrial materials, you can easily find them over the web. With just a few clicks of the mouse, you can order the item anytime, anywhere. Some stores offer cash on delivery (COD) mode of payment while others accept payments through a third party establishment.

But there is nothing more convenient in shopping online than using a credit card. Convenient and laid back because you do not have to pull out some bills from your wallet or go somewhere to make your payment. Using your credit card for shopping online is pretty simple since you will just have to key-in your card number and other personal details. However, credit card usage could also put your finance status at risk.

Making online transaction is not as safe as you think. It is always associated with high risk – a threat that can put you in debt without you even knowing it. How? Well, there are countless of incidents wherein a credit card owner was charged for transactions he/she never made. What happened? Credit card fraud! As online shopping trend soars, fraudulence and identity theft also became very rampant. Despite the fact that online businesses have implemented high security features to keep customer’s personal information safe, fraud can still take place.

Let’s face it. Cyber criminals can easily formulate new modus operandi to victimize online customers. They can quickly steal your personal details with simple tools and techniques. Hence, consumers should be very vigilant when shopping online. Identity theft protection services are now available to help protect identity when doing online transaction. Some of these can instantaneously notify users if there are dubious transactions. On the other hand, credit card firms have carried out tougher security measures to make it harder for criminals to tamper.

Below is an infographic that illustrates the impact of technology to credit cards and how it helps strengthen security protection.

Source: ComputerScienceDegreeHub.com