Quote:For the most part, paying bills online is actually more secure (in most cases) than paying in person if using a debit/credit card or sending a check in the mail.  Contrary to popular belief, credit card information is stolen not by transactions online, but usually at a point-of-sale location.  That's not to say that someone can't hack Amazon's database and get the information, if they really want it they can get it.  The point is that it's more difficult and risky to do and pretty much pointless when there are easier targets that can yield good results.

 

One thing that credit card companies have been doing that helps prevent fraud is switching from the magnetic stripe on credit/debit cards and going to the "chip" type of card.  Without going into too much detail, the "chip" system uses encryption whereas the magnetic stripe system does not.

 

What many people don't realize is that if someone really wants to attack/track/hack someone else, it's actually not that difficult.  A malicious hacker doesn't usually target the "average person", they usually target someone more "high profile" or in a position that can get them to their ultimate target.  Much of it involves social engineering and many victims actually "invited" the hack to take place.

 

My point is that in today's world with social media and all, people need to really think about what they are doing.  Any little bit of information that they make public could be used... maybe not to attack them specifically, but in other ways.

My husband refuses to do any banking or paying bills online. We can access our Verizon wireless account online only because I set it up so I could see how we use our data plan. He was not happy about it but I told him tough crap. He did things his own way for the 18 years between the time he left home and the time we got married so he's stuck in his ways. Five years in and I'm slowly moving things along. I finally got him to agree to replace all the black curtains he had in the windows. Bachelor life is not easy to let go of apparently. 

 

I worked with a girl about 10 years ago who was fresh out of college and all idealistic about life. She had everything on Facebook short of her SSN so friends and family could look her up and contact her and such. I told her she really shouldn't advertise her address. phone number, place of employment, college she just graduated from, etc., on any FB account but especially one that was open to the public. You could see everything about her on there. She didn't get it at first but a few others agreed with me after they saw it all and she finally deleted a lot of it and made it to where only friends could see it. She was a young blonde girl who was very pretty and very trusting and would/could have been a serious target for some nasty people.

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