62% of French people make purchases on the Internet according to the Research Center for the Study and Observation of Living Conditions (Crédoc), one and a half times more than 10 years ago. Half of them are between 60 and 69 years old and almost a third are over 70 years old. Although this use of the Internet is becoming more and more successful, it is not without danger because, even if buying on the Internet with your credit card usually happens without problems, some scammers have found a way to hack into accounts. bank accounts of Internet users to carry out fraudulent transactions. Follow our advice to avoid falling into their trap.
If you are tempted to buy online, the first step to take to ensure that the site you are looking for is serious and above all secure for your credit card payments, is to ensure that you clearly identify its characteristics.
One of the tricks is to take an interest in the type of website it is. Most of the so-called secure sites, but which do not dispense with being cautious, however, because the guarantee is never complete when making online purchases there, have an address which is displayed in the bar of your browser under the form "https://". For example "https ://www.lemagdusenior.com/” for our website.
But others, which you absolutely must avoid, or in any case on which we advise you not to make purchases, or to create a personal space because these sites are not secure, have an address of type "http://". Only one letter in the code that precedes the address of these sites that may be fraudulent differs:the "s", which means "secure" in English or "security" in French, does not appear. What not to pay attention to! This is why it is necessary to be very vigilant with this kind of detail. These unsecured websites that offer online sales can indeed intercept personal information on behalf of a third party such as your password, your credit card data, etc.
In general, and to avoid a higher risk of being the victim of hacking of your bank card while shopping on the Internet, prefer French and European sites, in any case recognized sites. On the other hand, also beware of sites that offer too attractive prices, which can hide fraudulent procedures.
Also make sure not to make purchases on the Internet with your credit card if your computer or mobile phone is connected to a public Wi-Fi network very often offered, for example in stations, hotels, or certain public places. . These networks are not secure like private Wi-Fi networks and they can be more easily hacked by scammers looking to steal your bank details.
In order to limit as much as possible the hacking of the bank cards of Internet users who make online purchases, most banks have now implemented what is called double authentication.
Once you arrive at the payment stage of your purchase, first make sure that a padlock-shaped drawing is present in the address bar of your browser and precedes the address of the site where you are about to make a purchase with your bank card. This is another sign that shows that this site has implemented a process that limits the hacking of your bank and personal details.
Then, if you have set up the double authentication system offered by your bank, a secret code necessary to validate your purchase is sent to you by SMS on your mobile phone or by email. Your bank may also require you to download an app to your phone where you can identify your purchase. Without this code, which ensures that you are the author of the transaction, your bank will not authorize the purchase.
One of the most secure banking systems currently is “3D Secure”. It ensures that the number of your bank card, its expiry date and its visual cryptogram (placed on the back) are no longer sufficient to be able to make an online purchase. Unfortunately, and this is why you have to be careful, this system is not implemented by all merchant sites.
If you notice fraudulent payments on your bank statements and you suspect that your bank card has been hacked following an online purchase, you must contact your bank without delay and block your bank card. You can also carry out this procedure on the interbank bank card opposition server available 7 days a week and 24 hours a day on 0 892 705 705.
You can then report the bank fraud of which you have been the victim to the Perceval service available on service-public.fr. This report allows the gendarmerie services that manage Perceval to carry out investigations and sometimes to find the crooks behind the hacking of bank cards.
