Afternoon ladies and gents...hope everyone is having a fantastic 'Thunder Up' Tuesday. My day has been productive...just wrapped up tonight's IYC report...although my focus is dwindling as the day progresses...NBA Playoffs...Game 5...Thunder...Lakers...need I say more!?! I can't believe we're tied 2-2 with the Kobe and his aging LA crew...wow...feels good to be an Okie...who's with me?? With that said...there's still a bit of work to be done before I head home for the evening...including finishing this post:) I've included a few useful tips to keep in mind when shopping online ((info. courtesy of www.msnbc.com)). Read up Please!
1. Understand how PayPal works. When you open a PayPal account, you authorize PayPal to take money out of your bank account or charge online purchases to your credit card. This can be a nice service if you feel uneasy about sharing your credit-card information with a wide variety of online merchants. Merchants never see your personal information; they just receive money from PayPal, an eBay company.
2. Decide how you want to pay. PayPal’s default maneuver is to withdraw money straight from your bank account rather than charge purchases to your credit card. If you want to pay with your credit card, you must remember to adjust the payment setting by clicking the “More Funding Options” link before you pay.
3. It’s better to use your credit card. That way you’ll be able to dispute charges and potentially get them reversed if anything goes awry. Such disputes will be much harder to resolve if the money has already been taken out of your account.
4. Don’t respond to unsolicited e-mails. Did you ever get an e-mail message that appears to be from PayPal or another legitimate-looking outfit, asking you to click on a Web link and update your account information? Never, ever do that! This is one of the biggest online scams around. (Don’t respond to unsolicited phone calls of this nature, either.)
5. Take the initiative. If you’re concerned that PayPal or another institution might really need to reach you, go ahead and contact them directly – but not via the e-mail message you received. Since PayPal’s toll-free number can be hard to find, here it is: 1-800-854-1366. Its non-toll-free customer-service number is (402) 935-2050.
6. Type in Web site addresses yourself. By doing this instead of simply clicking on a link that gets sent to you, you’ll dramatically increase your chances of reaching a legitimate site.
7. Look for signs of security. When you reach the point of payment or of sharing your personal information, the Web site should be secure. The address of a secure site contains an “s” after the “http:”, like so: “https:”. Internet browsers also display an icon such as a gold padlock to verify that the site is secure.
8. Don’t pay outside the system. Fraudulent sellers will ask you to ignore the regular online-shopping-cart method of payment and wire them money instead. Or, they may want you to place money in what will turn out to be a phony escrow account. Never deviate from the regular payment process in this way.
9. Check the seller’s reputation. Whether you’re shopping on eBay, Amazon.com or another site that connects you with independent sellers, opt for a seller who has sold at least 10 items and who has a high satisfaction rating. Also, take a minute to read past customers’ feedback about the seller.
10. Know where to complain. If you feel you have been a victim of fraudulent activity or have received a fraudulent solicitation, report the matter to the retailer or company that’s been “spoofed".
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