Submitting credit card numbers and other sensitive information online shouldn’t be cause for cold sweats and sleepless nights. Despite the efforts of identity thieves and other Internet criminals, shopping online is still safe, as long as you stay informed about the tools and tricks Internet crooks use to scam the unaware.
Having read the above, you might be thinking that it would be a hassle to generate a virtual number every time you arrive at the checkout page of an online retailer. But considering the peace of mind that using virtual numbers affords you, it’s worth it. Credit card companies don’t charge a fee for generating virtual numbers, and the process of generating a number is quick and painless.
Computer viruses, trojan horses, worms and other types of malware can cause all kinds of headaches, but when it comes to serious security threats, it doesn’t get much worse than a keystroke logger (also known as a keylogger.) If your PC isn’t protected by anti-virus software, you computer could get infected with a particular type of trojan horse called a malicious keylogger, a program that will record all your keystrokes, save them to a file and send the information to a criminal. If you get infected with a malicious keylogger, a huge chunk of your sensitive information, like credit card numbers, your social security number, the usernames and passwords you use around the Internet, etc. could end up in the hands of the crook who orchestrated the attack. Your private information could then be used to steal your identity, or worse.
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