Chapter 9: Staying Safe While Shopping and Banking Online

Vocabulary flashcards covering safe online shopping, recognizing fraudulent sites, utilizing secure payment methods, and protecting online banking accounts based on Chapter 9.

SSL Encryption

A security standard whose absence on an e-commerce website serves as a red flag for a fraudulent or fake site.

Trustpilot

A third-party review platform used to check user feedback and verify the legitimacy of online shopping sites.

ScamAdvisor

A web verification tool used to assess the safety and trustworthiness of a suspected fraudulent website.

Wire Transfers

A high-risk payment method that should be avoided on shopping websites because it offers no fraud protection or chargeback options.

Credit Cards

A payment method serving as a primary line of defense online due to strong encryption, built-in fraud protection, and chargeback rights.

PayPal

A trusted digital payment platform that offers buyer protection, dispute resolution, and completes transactions without sharing personal financial details with sellers.

Digital Wallets

Electronic payment services—such as Apple Pay and Google Pay—that provide secure authentication, convenience, and tokenization.

Tokenization

A security feature employed by digital wallets that substitutes sensitive payment details with secure, randomly generated tokens.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

A multi-step identity verification defense required to secure online banking accounts and financial services.

Virtual Credit Cards

Temporary, randomly generated card numbers linked to an actual credit card account that conceal real account numbers from merchants, allow custom spending limits and expiration dates, but carry limitations for recurring billing and returns.

Phishing Emails

Deceptive digital messages sent by cybercriminals using artificial urgency, fake discounts, free trial traps, and typographical errors to trick recipients into exposing private banking credentials.

Account Alerts

Automated security notifications enabled within online banking to monitor transaction activity and flag unauthorized charges in real time.

Anti-Virus Software

A protective security program recommended to safeguard devices and block malicious threats when suspecting or inspecting questionable e-commerce websites.

Retail Payment Storage

The practice of saving billing credentials on merchant accounts, which cybersecurity best practices advise against to prevent data compromise during vendor breaches.

Public Wi-Fi

An unencrypted or shared wireless network that creates interception risks and should be avoided when logging into banking portals or entering payment data.

Suspicious Domain Name

A web address exhibiting subtle misspellings, abnormal extensions, or odd characters used by cybercriminals to masquerade as authentic retailer sites.