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In today's society more and more people are abandoning traditional means of shopping like malls and flea markets for more tech savvy and less time consuming methods such as online stores and auctions.

Initially many people were concerned about protecting their credit when making purchases online but the web has become a buyers market as of late. If you haven't indulged in the wonders of online shopping due to fears of fraud then read up because this article is all about how to protect your credit when making purchases online.

With a multitude of encryption, password intense stores and computer firewalls, online shopping has become quite safe. As a busy mom, I make most of my purchases online because I don't have the time to run to 10 different stores. When making any purchase online, the first thing I suggest is to research who you are buying your items from.

If it is an actual online store see if you can find feedback about the establishment through search engine research. If you are making your purchase from an online auction service check what kind of feedback the seller has accumulated.

Many sites now require you to register with them when making purchases online at their store. This is another great safety feature as you must enter a username and password before making your purchase. As long as you remain the only person who knows the password you have a greater chance to protect your credit.

Another way to protect your credit when making purchases online is to read the fine print of your credit card company. While many credit card companies provide buyer's insurance you should be sure to read the actual terms that your credit card company offers in regards to protecting your credit.

Also checking your card balance regularly will allow you to notify your credit card company as soon as you notice any illegal activity within your account. Some credit card companies will even call you periodically to review your past ten transactions!

I also recommend you reserve one credit card for online use. This will help you better keep track of online purchases and will be easier to discover fraudulent use if it has occurred (as opposed to keeping track of 5 to 10 different cards). Not to mention, if someone does get a hold of your information, they can only charge up one card while your others remain untouched. An extra precaution would be to choose a card with a relatively low credit limit.

Now once you get hooked on internet shopping, you must be sure to be safe on the computers you use. All too often people start clicking away on public computers and fail to realize that they had never logged out of the store in which they were shopping. Most sites will not enable users to go back on pages without reentering a password but always make sure you logout of sites just to be on the safe side. Also, enable firewall software on your computer if it is on a network so other people can not view the contents of your computer's hard drive.

The overall key to protecting your credit when making purchases online is to be smart. Follow these simple rules and pretty soon you'll be the one to tell your friends how to protect their credit when making purchases online. Happy Shopping!