secure online purchasing.   No matter what product or service entices you to bring out your credit card or click one of the many online secure payment providers to make a payment, you should look for https preceeding the www in your browser as many websites use the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure method. Another good sign to look for is a small padlock symbol usually in the bottom right hand side of the order page. Both these safety features ensure your details are sent using a minimum 128bit encryption. That means all the details that you have entered on the order form are mega jumbled up before being sent to the supplier where they are then rearranged into the way that you entered them. Another minor detail to be on the look out for if you use one of the many good payment providers such as Paypal, GlobalXchange, 2checkout, Alertpay etc.,is... NEVER click a link from your email to your online provider as above. You may get emails such as "Your account has been hacked and we managed to block on this occasion pleas log into your account and update your details." OR "Your account information needs to be upgraded" Click the link / button to log in and update your account. If you do receive such an email warning then type the actual web address into your browser to log in, always check the web address in the browser to ensure you are on the correct site. Another give away from email scams is the sender address. Example :- secure paypal (at ) yahoo.com OR paypal.warning (at ) gmail.com Anyone can set up a free email account at yahoo, gmail, hotmail and many other providers so please be sure even before opening such emails.  Some of these emails look very professional and use the logo's and colors, if you do click then it is possible that you will be directed to a mirror website where your username and password will be harvested and your account will then be emptied very quickly.   I hope some of this has been helpful and please also warn your online friends.