With the new spawning of the digital world, online payments’ evolution is a vast way of its depth. More and more Indian buyers and customers shift from a traditional way of payment to credit or debit card payments to payment apps that flinger clearance of amounts with just a click away. Thus there are a huge number of reasons to crave a vigilant path while making online payments. Following a path of high credibility and trust is necessary to make strong security. So, following rules to ensure safe online payments is very crucial.
Why Follow Rules For Safe Payments?
In this article
There is no lack of traumatizing evidence these days, proving the growing risks in online thefts. Sometimes it also ensures cash backs, which further encourages more of its usage. Be it dangling in a long line for electricity payments or mere ice-cream stalls. Online payments are the call for demand these days. With increasing demand, crimes are throbbing as well. To ensure a safe online payment platform, a few golden rules are the requisite need of the hour.
Although technology is developing, just like the two sides of a coin, there are pros and cons to every aspect. Customers surrender their secretive bank account details for an easier approach. It further prompts a serious threat to security. Taking into consideration the safety of online transactions, the article is based.
Some people are easily tempted by many spam emails, messages of winning the lottery to earn quick. They even send them their account details very easily. This is one of the major causes of cyber theft and so much more. For online payments, as we have to provide our personal financial information, there are highly vulnerable chances of identity theft, security threat, financial loss, and mental trauma.
Advancement in technology is exhibited in two ways. Ways in which the developers use it as their golden key to a safer lock for secure transactions, frauds search for a compatible pin to unlock.
There are many types of fraud in online payments like clean fraud, account takeover, merchant fraud, customer fraud, triangular fraud, affiliate fraud, and reshipping.
Rules For Safe Online Payments
Online payment sites provide a wide platform for price comparisons, cashback offers, and so much more. With the increase in popularity, the tragic pit holes of cyber theft, security theft, cash loss have increased rapidly.
Under the disguise of useful apps to make your work smarter, Trojan secretly loads malicious theft codes into the device. Kaspersky has recently detected a new malicious Trojan that steals money from the phone. Once the app is installed, the Trojan carries the automated clicks forwards on the web pages. It works with the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP).
It is nothing but a type of phone payment that adds charges to the phone bill directly. The Trojan silently subscribes the phone to several devices. Trojan was undiscovered till 2017, but then it suddenly started affecting mobile phones. Transactions made from laptop or pc is safer than smartphones.
There are more malware attacks on smartphones than laptops or pc. Online payments are the need of the world, especially after demonetization. So, there are certain precautions one must take to make it a smarter choice.
1. The most common way to sniff out faultiness is to check out the leftmost corner, whether it is HTTP or at the beginning of the URL in the site address. Most safer sites prefer using HTTPS or Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol over Transport Layer Security. It means the encrypted transfer of information between you and the server.
2. Use a computer for transaction procedures as smartphones are more prone to malware attacks. Use Google Chrome with a trusty anti-virus and HTTPS. Make sure you scan it regularly.
3. Make sure you grab yourself a temporary credit card. These are very much crucial as in case its information gets stolen; it is of no use. However, they are just for one-time usage purposes. In case you are a person of regular transactions, this won’t satisfy you.
4. Put up a strong password. Well, it may sound ‘not that important,’ but I can tell you it really is. Giving a strong password adds to more security.
5. Create a separate, private e-mail address; you don’t use it for any personal notice. Just keep it for online payment types.
6. Don’t go for free Wi-Fi spots. It is nothing but just another tactic used by thieves to steal information. They subscribe it automatically with the help of WAP to different servers. The major drawback of WPA2 is the encryption standard.
The biggest threat with free public Wi-Fi is lending a helping hand to the hackers to a position between you and the connection. They extract all your e-mail, phone number, Credit card, etc. information. So instead of visiting a shop for getting free Wi-Fi with a cappuccino, you end up giving all your personal information to the hacker.
If you don’t have an option, but public Wi-Fi, then use Virtual Private Networks or VPN. It allows you to make a secure internet connection.
7. Avoid using any online payment app you see. There are various apps to make your online transactions easier, smarter with lots of cash backs and many more offers. In the present scenario, one of the trusted online transaction apps is Pay pal. There are many more like Google Pay, Paytm, etc. So make sure you are always in reliable hands.
Imagine you’re getting something from a site at a lower price than others. Yet, it asks you for your account number, bank details, etc.
You thought of giving your account details in a flow of saving money and flaunting your funky apparel in your ladies club. The next morning you wake up after seeing yourself in your dream wearing that gorgeous dress. As you check your phone for any new good morning texts, you see a message from your bank with 0 account balance. How terrifying even to imagine. Isn’t it?
Make sure that website is secure and trustworthy. Take a proper note about its return policies. If only a deal looks to be true, go for it else DON’T.
9. Use a PASSWORD MANAGER. Still, using your anniversary date as your universal password? Well then, you’re in the path of trouble. The password manager provides a unique, strong, and convenient password to make it stiff strong. It just makes it better accessible and secure for accessing online services. They help you in making a strong, complex password, tenacious enough to hack it. They also aid in changing passwords if you forget (I know you’re on the list of forgetting too). It also makes sure you don’t use the same password for multiple accounts (okay, I know you’re hiding your face now). Trust me, it can be hazardous. There are many password managers like Zoho, Dashlane, Lastpass, Keeper, etc. The present most trustable is Zoho with 15 days free trial and then paid.
10. Make your personal information private to you. Well, now you can relate to what Raavana said during his last breathe in RAMAYANA. Just Ramayana things, you know. All that I want to depict is you should never share your personal data with anybody. Howsoever close might he/she not be. You should keep something to yourself, right!
11. Make sure your smartphone is under the grip of a trusted APP LOCK. Few online payment apps do not run without app lock encryption. Yet, considering prevention is better than cure, using an app lock leads to more safety.
For example, there are payment apps like Google Pay, Phone Pay that uses a mandatory PIN for its activation and working. This PIN has to be strong, secure, and private. Remember, this PIN is different from the UPI PIN that you use for payment.
12. Always put an eye away from spam e-mails or such text messages. Hurray! You won 1lakh rupees. Send your account details in this mentioned number for easier transfer of money. Isn’t this something every one of you must have experienced surely a hundred or more times? Check your phone. Even now, it must be present somewhere.
These are nothing but just thievery norms used by jobless scammers. They send you shitty messages with an attractive representation of lottery winning. They’ll ask for further details about your account number for the transaction.
Online Payement Method
Many online payment methods make our transaction processes smooth. It provides secret encryptions to keep customers’ information safe and secure after such a huge advancement in technology, demonetization, and the demand for a smarter and effective way of sending cash.
Sitting comfortably on the sofa with a cup of tea in hand, there are many blooms of online payment methods—each one promising a safer and secure checkout experience.
Apart from a smarter experience, they make it quiet and easy. Within a lapse of seconds to transfer money from one corner of the world to another, just within one sip of tea. Isn’t it?
- PayPal
- Amazon Pay
- Google Pay
- Paytm
- Phone Pay
- Apple pay
- Stripe
- Visa checkout
- Card payments like debit card, credit card, etc.
- Net Banking
How To Pay Online?
Making it an easy, quick, and secure process is what’s aimed by online payment developers.
1. Payment With Debit Or Credit Cards
iii. As the final gateway receives the information, it connects it to the acquiring bank. The acquiring bank receives the transaction information and transfers it to the card network.
v. Type it in that provided box and wait for a message to pop up on your phone about the complete transaction.
2. Payment With Apps
Well, this is the easiest one so far to use. Just install the app, verifying with the assigned phone number with the bank account, and your job is done. Every time you need any online payments, you can scan the QR code. Or directly send the amount to any contact or phone bills, electricity bills, etc. Many such apps like PayPal, Google Pay, Paytm, Phone Pay, and the list continue.
Best Ways Of Online Transactions
With the increase in online transactions, the threat of crimes has increased. To outcome, there are several measures to abide by for secure online payments. No doubt, to some degree, you can rely on these vast influencing technologies encrypted with a secret code.
Even when everything is right, something goes left you don’t know (well, that was sarcasm) since various types of online transaction apps like Google Pay, Phone Pay, Pay Pal, etc. Still amongst them, Pay Pal is the world’s largest online transaction medium. Every field of business internationally accepts it.
Simultaneously, for online shopping purposes, the usage of credit/debit card media is more trustworthy. That is because many cards provide fraud protection and higher security. Thus, when shopping for a new credit/debit card, make sure you go through all its security services granted.
Free public hotspots are among the major ways thieves steal information. So avoid using free Wi-Fi from the cafe or hotel you’re staying in.
American Express online casinos, famously known as amex casinos, provide a safer way to make payments for online casinos.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Which is the best way for online payment?
For shopping, purposes use credit or debit cards, electricity bill payments, school/college fees, etc. you can use online transaction apps like Google pay or Pay pal.
2. Which is the safest medium to pay online?
The safest medium is the one that does not use any account information. Make a bold note of it never to share your account or any such information with anyone during online transactions. Online payment ways never ask for such unless its fraud.
3. Which is a safer way for online transactions, Credit cards, or online apps like PayPal?
The credit card offers a lot of security safe ways for online transactions. With the advancement in technology, payment options like Credit card and PayPal have attracted many customers. Added to that, PayPal is the most secure online payment apps in comparison to the rest.
Even though there are all safety measures, there are still ways how information can get stolen. Be it by HTML interception, server bleaching, HTTP instead of HTTPS, etc.
Technology is changing every day to make it better. But it can’t always be 100% percent secure in not letting your information scrapped off.
While online apps are more prone to online thefts, Credit or Debit cards are vulnerable to physical stealing, scamming, or skimming. Online transaction apps use safer ways like- Gateway, encrypted codes. Even Credit card companies invest hugely for a secure transaction process; still, all Credit card companies are not reliable.
One sentence for a thousand words, using reliable online payment apps in requisite trustworthy sites and Credit cards from a trusted source, is what sounds justice to the problem.
1. For online shopping purposes, use a temporary Credit card (refer above for more )
2. Always make transactions from a computer and not a smartphone.
4. How to testify if a website is secure?
Look for the following options for getting a proper light about conforming if a site is actually secure-
1. Website address- The address bar has to start with https:// and not https where S stands for Secure. There are many such fake websites where it is found, so make sure to look at it.
2. The address bar turns green- You must have marked as you’ve typed or copied an address, and o,n reaching, it turns green. Well, it is nothing but an indication of a safe way ahead.
3. Padlock symbol- Take a glimpse at the padlock symbol too.
4. Relevant certificate- If you get a padlock symbol, you can know who has registered that site. You can get a certificate if it is a trusted site, but if ignored, don’t give a second thought and escape.
Conclusion
By now, you must have been clear about the safety platforms of online payments. So, the next time you go for online payment, you know what is best for you.
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