Security Blog
Credit Card Information Given Away Thursday, 20 August 2009 13:51 |  Written by Randy Ross |   
When you purchase something online, do you take time to read the terms and conditions or do you just check the little box that says you agree? If you are like most people, you hurriedly check the little box and move on. If you are one of those, what are you agreeing to? Currently, class action lawsuits and a Senate investigation have been launched against two companies, Vertrue and WebLoyality for their practices. In short, they offer e-commerce companies an opportunity to increase their revenue while “offering targeted, relevant offers at checkout.” That does not sound so bad. After all, anyone who has used the internet has ignored hundreds of ads. But in this case, in order to complete your transaction, you are forced to provide an email address to the ad. For doing this, you are offered discounts on future purchases or coupons for other retailers. You may think, “So what. It will just be another piece of spam in my inbox.” Perhaps, if you are more savvy, you may give them a throw-away email address and complete the transaction. When you complete a transaction online, you expect the retailer to take appropriate actions to keep your credit card and identity information safe. You do certainly do not expect the retailer to hand your identity and card information off to a completely disinterested third party. That is exactly what the partners of Vertrue and WebLoyality did. Buried deep in the terms and conditions most people do not read, but always agree to is a condition allowing the retailers to pass this information, including credit card information, on to these third parties. When you provide an email address in the ad, you are subscribing to their service. Many people who have completed orders with online retailers such as Orbitz, buy.com and hundreds of other retailers have found mysterious charges on their credit/debit card statements. In fact, a quick search of Google yields thousands of stories of people who have become a victim of these predatory practices. The retailers are hiding behind the claim that they are offering a value-added service to the customers. They defend themselves behind the claim that customers agreed to the additional terms and therefore agreed to the subscription. The class action lawsuits and Senate investigation will certainly settle this issue. The moral of the story: be sure to take the time to read and understand the terms and conditions of any website you sign up on or give your card information to. For more information, please read the full article on CNet. |
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