Michael Shames

San Diego Consumer

Online Transaction Score

The Team Approach to Safe Online Purchasing
By Michael Shames
Posted on Jul 16 2006
Last updated Jul 16 2006

OK, time’s running out. We’ve got only one play left and we’ve got to score. So this one’s gotta count. Got it? I’ve got a play that is a winner. The other team is thinking that it’s a high risk play, but we know better, right?

Your Online Purchase Team

Alright, Parsons? Wake-up Parsons, are you with us, here? This play is designed for you. You are going to make the online purchase and we’re gonna use your credit card. So this falls on your shoulders. Are you up to it? Good.

This is how it’s gonna work. They think that making a credit card purchase over the Internet is a dangerous maneuver. But they’ve not seen this team at work. Johnson! You are going to scan the field for legitimate web sites. Only the ones that offer contact numbers AND physical locations will do. And Johnson, make sure of two other things. The web site URLs have to start with https://. If it doesn’t have that “s”, then don’t let Parsons go there because it doesn’t have adequate secured server status.

Let’s check the privacy protections of the web sites. Davis! Yeah, you. I need for you to cross the field looking for online merchants to those who are members of a seal-of-approval program that sets voluntary guidelines for privacy-related practices like TRUSTe or BBBonline. The ones that aren’t members – take’em down. Got it?

We’ve got to protect against a possible return – or worse, a warranty block. So Johnson, I want you and Harris to check out the return and warranty policies of the merchants. Harris, if you see any warranty exclusions or limitation – like ones that require that defective merchandise can only be returned to the manufacturers – then you’ve gotta take those merchants out. Johnson, you keep an eye on restocking or return fees. If you see them, you know how to handle them.

McGillicudy! Are you ready? I need you to go deep into Parson’s computer and check for spyware or adware. If he’s got any, get him some new security software to eliminate the spyware. Best bet: get him three programs. I like CounterSpy, Spybot S&D and Ad-aware.

Jones, I need your crack-the-hacker blocks to nail any potential hackers. Check Parsons’ anti-virus protection. TrendMicro and Panda Software provide free on-line virus scans. AVG offers some pretty good free protective software. But given the importance of this play, let’s splurge for some paid software from Norton. Just the Anti-Virus, not the Norton Systemworks or similar bundles.

Let’s see – oh Crosby. You’ve got to watch Parsons’ back. I want you to take out any of his debit cards; if his debit card is used by hacker, he could be on the hook for the entire charge. Then check into his credit cards – only use the one that offers better protection than the federally liability cap of $50. Then make sure Parsons only uses that one credit card that is dedicated to online purchases. Oh, and don’t go off buying that credit card protection like you did last time – almost all of it is useless.

OK team. We got all that? Let’s get out there and make that online purchase for the team.

About the author: Michael Shames is the Executive Director of the Utility Consumers' Action Network, a San Diego-based consumer group and the author of "Secrets from the World's Greatest Consumer". The author can be reached at michael@ucan.org.
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