Few tips for safer Online Shopping

Online shopping is the new development that has caught up among the masses. Shopping online is fast and convenient, but it comes with its own set of pros and cons. One such issue is security, which haunts each and every one of us who shop online. According to a research, there was estimated USD 2 billion of online commercial loss in 2006 due to safety concerns. Here are 5 tips discussed by Shekhar Kirani, vice president of VeriSign India that will make on line shopping secure.
Look for visual cues
Prominent misspellings and frequent grammatical errors are signs that a web site is fraudulent. One can also look for simple visual cues that show that the site is authenticated and protected. Cues include a green address bar in high-security browsers such as Internet. Explorer 7 and soon, Firefox 3 and Opera. Other visual cues include a padlock icon in either the lower or upper right-hand corner of the screen and https:// in the browser — both of these indicate the site is secured.
Check out 2-factor authentication
A growing number of sites are accepting a second form of user authentication that comes from physical devices such as a token, credit-card form factor, a USB drive, and even your cell phone. According to Kirani, “Each device provides users with a dynamic onetime password that must be entered into a login page in addition to their user name and password. The extra layer of security prevents potential fraudsters from accessing personal accounts that are accessed by a simple user name and password.”
Compare the checkout experience to well-known sites and look for anomalies
Most well-run web sites — such as Amazon or eBay — send orderconfirmation, shipping confirmation e-mails, and allow you to print outconfirmations of your orders. Beware of a simple form with no “visual cues” and no confirmation that you entered or ordered anything.
Know your vendor
Read their ratings and reviews from other customers and take red flags seriously. Also make sure you have some way of contacting them — look for a phone number and mailing address. Finally, try to find out where the company is based in their “about us” section.
Pay attention to the order form
The site should not ask for more than your name, shipping address, billing address, credit card type and number, and expiration. Data such as bank account number, etc. shouldn’t be collected. Finally, make sure that the sites with which you indulge into business provide proper security measures to protect their most valuable asset-you, the customer.