Main Image

Modern Day Bank Robbers


In the old days bank robbers used to come into a bank, with a mask and a gun, and take off with the money. The money that they were stealing belonged to the people of the town, the bank was just holding it for them. Nowadays bank robbers can use the Internet and go right to those people and steal their money, many times without them even knowing it. All they need to do is to get your bank account number, Social Security number, or credit card number and suddenly you've become a victim of bank robbery identity theft. We need to be educated on how to protect ourselves in this ever-changing world of the Internet.



Protect Yourself...

Important Questions and Answers

How Do I Know If a Web Site Is Safe For Me To Give My Credit Card Number, Bank Account Number, Or Social Security Number to?

The first and most important thing to do when entering private information is to look for the little lock at the bottom of your Internet browser. Double click on the lock icon and make sure that the certificate is from a trusted source. Your computer should let you know if it is not from a trusted source. The secure Website should begin with https://, rather than just http://. It is also important to look for the words "Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)" or a pop-up window that indicates that you are about to enter a secure area.

Should I ever send my personal banking information through e-mail?

The simple answer is no. Since SSL does not work in an e-mail environment you should never send personal information through e-mail.

What about giving my personal banking information over the phone?

Giving your credit card number and other personal information over the phone is usually ok, as long as you make a note of who you are giving it to. Always jot down the name of the person you are giving it to, the company that they work for, the date and time, and the phone number.

Do you have any suggestions regarding passwords?

One suggestion is that you do not give out any information about yourself including passwords. When you are choosing a password use one that someone will not be able to figure out. For example your pet's name is not too difficult for anyone to figure out. In fact your mother's maiden name might also be easy to figure out, so be careful and choose wisely. I like to incorporate letters, numbers, and one or two capital letters as a habit when making a password. You might even want to consider punctuation marks. When asked a security question try to think of something that no one else would know. Roboform is one of the many great tools available on the Internet for storing and managing passwords securely. It can even generate a random password for you.

How do I verify the credibility and reliability of a business that I want to purchase products from?

The Internet is a very big place, and reaches out to the whole world. Therefore it is becoming more and more important for businesses to show some form of verification about who they are, their reputation, and who to contact if a complaint should occur. If the company you're dealing with is not a well-known and trusted business, you might want to check to see if they have a Better Business Bureau icon somewhere on their web site. You can go to bbb.org to check out a company's identity and reputation. You can also visit the Google Groups to see if that company has had any complaints, unhappy customers, or even fraud attached to their name. Just go to Google Groups Website and type in "Company name fraud" or "Company name scam" or "Company name feedback or review", you could even try "Company name sucks" and you might be surprised at what you find. Another way of determining a company's credibility is to contact the Office of the State Attorney General in the state where that seller is located. You can access this information at the website of the National Association of Attorneys General.

What do you suggest if I'm buying from a company that is outside the United States?

If the store you are buying from is located outside of the United States, the laws may be very different than what they are within the United States. You need to determine what your legal rights are in that country, and how they are enforced.

More to come!

© 2007 InfoFAQ - If you intend to copy from this FAQ you must provide a link back to InfoFAQ.

Visit our Shopping Guides and Credit Card Fraud sections for useful information.

Certifications

InfoFAQ is a Division of InfoMerchant and is a member of the Better Business BureauInfoFAQ Expert Merchant Program

FAQs with Organizations

Internships, Mentorships, and Scholarships - South Central Scholars Foundation offers a variety of programs to high school students in South Central Los Angeles.

Children's Shelter - Casa Pacifica is a center for neglected and abused children offering many services.

Molly's Fund Medical Organizer - Organize your medical history, medications, and more with Molly's

Christian Apologetics - Exclusive interview with CARM, a Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry.

FAQs with Corporations

HealthCare Finance - CareCredit offers special financing for medical procedures from Cosmetic Dentistry to LASIK Surgery.

Chauffeur Services - Exclusive interview with EmpireCLS, the worlds largest chauffeur and luxury limousine company.

Live Longer... A Science? - David H. Murdock, Chairman of the Dole Food & Longevity Institute, providing Executive Physicals, Health and Wellness Retreats, and Corporate Health

New Home Builder - Exclusive interview with Pardee Homes, a Southern California home builder.

Pearl Jewelry - Learn about quality pearls in this exclusive interview with The Pearl Outlet, Inc.

Civil Engineers - Questions answered by The Haaland Group about what makes a good civil engineer.

Mafia Games - In mafia games you find hitmen, bodyguards, and all kinds of thugs working their way up the crime family ranks.

FAQs with Manufacturers

Takamine Guitars - Exclusive interview with Takamine, a world leader of acoustic/electric guitars.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems - AeroVironment, Inc. Nasdaq: AVAV provides small UAV aircraft for the U.S. military.

Electric Vehicle Chargers - EV Solutions™ is the largest manufacturer of electric vehicle charging stations.

Medical Safety Products and Orange Workplace Safety Products- Exclusive interview with the leading provider in healthcare safety products."

Wood Baseball Bats - Questions and Answers with Viper Bats, a wooden baseball bat manufacturer.

CD Manufacturing - Music Manufacturing Services provides CD's for the music industry and for the general public.

Baby Bassinets - Find out what characterizes a good baby bassinet in this Pet Beds exclusive interview.

Natural Women's Products - Questions and answers with Emerita.

Drum Hardware - Exclusive interview with Gibraltar Hardware the drum set hardware leader.

Challenge Coins - You are advised to keep your unit coin within arm's length at all times. QA with Unit Coins.

Modest Swimwear - This company designs and creates modest swimwear that women love.

Gretsch Drums - Exclusive interview with Gretsch Drums, known for their "beautiful sound like no other."

FAQs with Doctors

Optometry - Exclusive interview with Dr. Summy To Portland's Neighborhood Optometrist.

Cosmetic Dentistry - Exclusive interview with Dr. Moller of New Image Cosmetic and Family Dentistry.

FAQs with Merchants

Southern California Wedding - Prestine country club setting in Southern California with spectacular views. Exclusive interview with Sherwood Country Club.

Israel Biblical Tours - This travel company has archaeologists and scholars to guide you through the Holy Land. They also offer Christian Tours to Israel.

Church Banners - Exclusive interview with Amplify Designs, the leading manufacturer of Church banners.

Counterfeit Handbags - "The World Customs Organization estimates the trade in fakes at about 7 percent of world trade."

Carpet Cleaning Tips - "Always ask about referrals and if they have a list of what they do to prepare your carpets for cleaning, and what type of system do they use..." QA with Sunset Carpet Cleaning

Shopping for Purses "Whats happening now at a great speed is manufacturers overseas will see the latest it bag and then duplicate the bag... Price is primarily why people would buy a knock-off purse as opposed to the real thing.." Kitsch Purses Q & A

Workers' Compensation Info "The huge benefit of the Internet is time and expense savings. The only other way to get all of this information other than the Internet is at your local law library." FAQ with WorkCompCentral

Eating Disorder Treatment - In this FAQ Monte Nido explains how you can find the right treatment center online.

USMS Merchant Services - USMS explains their suite of merchant services.

Diabetes Testing Supplies - Exclusive interview with ADS, a nationally accredited pharmacy that delivers diabetes supplies right to your home.

Making Luxury Affordable - Venue is a company who provides a unique way for consumers to finance luxury items.

Costa Rica Inn - Exclusive interview with The Necochea Inn.

Fur Blankets - Exclusive interview with Trailside Traditions, a distributor of organic fur products.

Moving Companies - Exclusive interview with Thunder Movers.

Metal Vents - Questions and answers concerning home ventilation with Luxury Metals.

Translation Services - Questions answered by Global Arena.

Website Management System - Exclusive interview with Viadesto, a leading CMS site provider for schools.

Modest Sexy Dresses - This company designs high quality sexy yet modest dresses, skirts and swimwear.

Raw Food Benefits - What are some of the great benefits of eationg raw foods? Find out in this exclusive interview with SunCafe in Los Angeles.

Emergency Food Storage - This company explains why certain foods are better for long term food storage.

Parenting Online Organizer - Wendy Bellissimo's Nesting site provides parenting advice and organization.

Broadcast Fax - This QA with WestFax reveals how fax broadcast services are different from e-mail and postal mail.

Limousine Services - Exclusive interview with be transported Limousine Services.

Kids Learning - Exclusive interview with ABC Mouse, a leading provider of educational games, phonics, and learning activities for kids.

Miami's Luxury Real Estate - Is it really harder to sell a luxury home?

Exhibit Rentals - Learn how to rent your exhibits with Expo Marketing.

More

Latest Interviews . . .

South Central Scholars - southcentralscholars.org
Molly's Fund - mollysfund.org
EV Solutions - evsolutions.com
Gibraltar Hardware - gibraltarhardware.com
EmpireCLS - empirecls.com
Venue- venue.com
New Image Dentistry - beautiful-smiles.net
Ovation Guitars - ovationguitars.com
Advanced Diabetes Supply - northcoastmed.com
CHLI - chli.com
Four Seasons - fourseasons.com
Gretsch Drums - gretschdrums.com
Systematic Art- systematicart.com
Nesting - nesting.com
HomeTips - hometips.com
CareCredit - carecredit.com
Dr. Summy To - pdxeyes.com
Aerovironment - avinc.com
Kaman Music Corp - kamanmusic.com
Tennis Traders - tennistraders.com
Sherwood Country Club - sherwoodcountryclub.com
Diviine Modestee - diviinemodestee.com
Sandel Medical - sandelmedical.com
HVAC Express - hvacexpress.com
Amplify Designs - amplifydesigns.com
US Merchant Systems - usms.com
The Bear Mill - thebearmill.com
SOEX - soexgroup.com
Thunder Movers - thundermovers.com
Haaland Group - haalandgroup.com
Emerita - emerita.com
Peter Corvallis - petercorvallis.com
Luxury Metals - luxurymetals.com
The Pearl Outlet - thepearloutlet.com
SunCafe - suncafe.com
Unit Coins - unitcoins.us
Trailside Traditions - trailsidetraditions.com
WestFax - westfax.com
Viper Bats - viperbats.com
Artis Metals - artiscaps.com
Sweet Innocence Dresses - modestdresses.com
Everyday Food Storage - 1stopfoodstorage.com
Viadesto - viadesto.com
Be Transported - betransported.com
CARM - carm.org
ABC Mouse - abcmouse.com
Expo Marketing - expomarketing.com
Miami Property Pro - miamipropertypro.com
Calgary Psychologists - calgarypsychologists.com
Global Arena - globalarena.com
Takamine - takamine.com
Pardee Homes - pardeehomes.com
Mafia Life - mafialife.com
Casa Pacifica - casapacifica.org

More

Latest Articles . . .

Planes Without Pilots Imagine a 3 1/2 foot remote controlled plane that flies straight up for miles.

Eating Disorder Help For those dealing with eating disorders, hope is never too far behind.

Mass CD Duplication. All of the sudden record labels began relying heavily on CD manufacturers for the mass production of their clients' albums.

Corporate Entertainment Corporate meetings are becoming more common in spas than conference rooms, with room service cuisine rather than with fast food from drive-thrus.

Medical Procedure Costs Find out the current costs for various medical procedures.

Baby Bedding Becomes Security Blanket New baby bedding developments have completely changed the newborn napping experience.

A Good Singles Strategy Helps tennis competitors with a simple one-on-one strategy checklist.

The Price is Always Right
Medical Organizations

News...

Serrahost Launches PSDirectory
A fast-growing directory of ProStores Web stores.

CareCredit Doctor Locator
GEMoney offers special financing options through their searchable network of over 100,000 doctors nationwide.

Merchant Compliance
Database of compliant merchants following security standards.

Costopedia
Find the average cost for some of the more difficult to find products and services.

Ask a Merchant
Portland merchant directory and portal.

My Little Phonebook
Northern Oregon Coast Online Yellow Pages.

ML Properties
Michelle Manley Orange County based realtor launches new site for prospective home buyers

Shopping Online


About Our Editors...

InfoFAQ Editorial Staff
The InfoFAQ editorial staff are qualified professionals who are experienced at researching the Internet for relevant information about merchants, their products, their services, and their industries. The staff is trained to be objective, concise, and informative, helping consumers understand the importance of merchant compliance, consumer safety, privacy, security, fraud protection, and truthful information when shopping on the Internet.