Identity theft is a terrible reality of our world. This is not to say that it never occurred in olden days, but it has occurred much more since the invention of the Internet. This miracle of the modern world is that we can communicate over huge distances, but this distance also produces problems. It used to be that when you bought something or made some sort of major commitment you would do so face to face. Part of what this allowed you to do was to get a sense for who you were dealing with. It certainly did not prevent someone from stealing from you or from stealing your identity, but it certainly made it much more difficult to do so. However, with the Internet we make transactions all the time without ever seeing each other or without the things we are buying right in front of us. The Internet thus requires a huge amount of faith and trust on the part of those who use it. However, few of us think of it in these terms, which means that we naively spend money online and often in foolish ways. You wouldn’t just give someone in a store your credit card information and address and expect to have them send you something, would you? We basically do the same thing every time we use the Internet, although there are certain safety precautions in place to ensure the safety of those buying. But what if the site you are using does not have a secured payment method? Should you still purchase something on such a site, even if the site appears to be legitimate?
Unless you actually know the owners of such a site personally, you should never buy anything online at a site with an unsecured server. If the owners of a business actually want to get people to visit their site and buy something they need to have a secure payment site. Otherwise their site not only appears completely second rate, but it also really makes customers wonder if they are for real. Someone can steal your identity through any site with unsecured payment methods, and they can steal it with ease. The simple reason for this is if you give your name and credit card information without a secure payment method you are simply handing this information over. A secure payment method, such as paypal, helps to insure that the site you are purchasing from is reputable. You usually receive an email receipt of the transaction and some sort of assurance that you have not just been ripped off. If you simply fill out your credit card information on a site without security you will probably get ripped off, and quicker than you would think. Because there is such a high degree of risk in a transaction without a secure payment method you should never, ever purchase anything at a site that lacks one. If you really want the products sold at such a site see if you can purchase them somewhere else or if you can contact the business and work something else out.
By never purchasing something at a site without secure payment you will help to ensure that you will not have your identity stolen. Although there are several other forms of identity theft associated with the Internet, you can avoid this common one and help to safegaurd the wealth of your family. Be safe and never purchase anything on an unsecured site and you will have helped to win the war against identity theft.