Guide for secured shopping online.

You should never send someone sensitive information such as your credit card number over email. Typing it in on a regular web page is not safe either: the information can be intercepted while it is being sent to the owners of the website over the internet. So how can you give online stores your credit card number safely?

Online stores use adanced technology to encrypt the information that you type so that it can be sent over the internet securely. The two most common technologies are SSL and SET. The store will usually tell you when it uses an encryption method, and which method it is using.

If you want to make sure, there are other ways to tell if a page is using a secure connection:

• Check the internet address of the web page that asks for your credit card number. If the address starts with a "https:" instead of the usual "http:", the page uses SSL encryption.
• Your web browser might notify you that you are browsing a secure page by displaying a lock icon (if you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer) or a locked padlock or unbroken key icon (if you are using Netscape) at the bottom of the browser window.

Alternatives to Giving Your Credit Card Number Online
Some online stores may allow you to place an order online that doesn't include your credit card number, and then call the store and give them your number by telephone. While we cannot say whether this practice is any safer, you might be more comfortable with it.

Privacy Policy
Online stores may use your information for various purposes other than billing you or sending you a product. For example, they might pass your telephone number on to a telemarketing business, which will lead to your receiving more telemarketing calls.

Look for a page on the store's website that's called "privacy policy" or "legal terms", in which the store specifies what it will and will not do with your information. The page would also tell you how much choice you have in the matter. For example, you can usually tell the store if you do or do not want it to send you emails about sales and special offers. If you don't like the store's privacy policy, or the store doesn't display its privacy policy on the website at all, you might want to go somewhere else for your shopping.