SAN ANTONIO — Shopping online can put you at risk if you are not careful about where you are spending your money.
A few steps can help make sure the website you are using is legitimate.
“A lot of times you’ll see the company information at the bottom of the page or in an ‘About’ page that might have an address,” said Greg Mahnken, a credit industry analyst at Credit Card Insider. “You can Google that address.”
Avoid websites where something seems off.
“We’re looking for mysteriously, like, dangerously low prices that just don’t seem to add up,” Mahnken said. “Sites with poor English or bad copy. Kind of strange website names, strange company names.”
He also suggested using apps like PayPal for purchases.
“The great thing about PayPal is they don’t give your card info to any site,” Mahnken said. “PayPal pays the merchant. PayPal stores your card information much like a mobile wallet does. No. 1, they’re not getting your actual card information if it is a scam site. No. 2, they do have buyer protection in place.”
Or you can get a one-time use account number called a virtual credit card number.
“If you’re buying from a site and you have to put in your card information and you want to be, you know, you’re a little bit wary, you can use a virtual account number and that will make sure that they don’t get your actual account information,” Mahnken said. “Also, if it’s a one-time use card, that’s even better because it can be used for the purchase you’re making and then, poof, it’s gone. The thieves, if they do get their hands on it, can’t do much with it.
"The good news is that if you use a virtual card number, they don’t affect returns. If you do need to make a return, they can still get the money into the right account.”
Learn more about virtual credit card numbers here.
You can dispute a charge if you do use a credit card, but it's vital to do so quickly.
“If there is fraud and you catch it within a certain time period, ideally you catch it within two days," Mahnken said. "But if you can get it within 60 days, that’s ideal."
Check every charge on your statement to make sure it is yours.
“I know there’s a lot of people that they get their bill,” said Greg White, a professor with UTSA and director of the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security. “They don’t necessarily look through their bill to see what the charges were. Yeah, you don’t want to do that. You need to take that extra time and make sure that all the charges are correct.”
Cancel your cards and get new ones if you find fraud. You can also take this step if you think your personal and credit information is being used by someone else:
“Put a freeze on your credit reporting. Contact the agency,” White said. “That way, if someone tries to open something in your name, they will not open it. The problem with that is that if you also go out and you want to buy a car or something like that, they want to do a credit check.”
Be aware, you will need to temporarily unfreeze your credit if you plan to apply for a loan. But you can a set a date for the freeze to be reinstated automatically.
There is help if you are struggling with credit card debit during the pandemic. Contact your card issuer for options.
“It could include temporarily putting your account in forbearance. It could include allowing you to make a late payment without a late fee,” Mahnken said. “It could include lowering your minimum payment while you’re unemployed.”
Check here to see what different credit card companies are doing to provide relief during the pandemic.
Your credit score will not be impacted if you met the terms of the agreement. Extra caution will ensure the coronavirus crisis does not turn into a credit crisis.