Merchant Funding Services Provider Discusses How Consumers Can Protect Themselves Online

Nova Merchant Funding, a major merchant account services firm offering seamless credit card processing to businesses around the country, offers advice on safely using credit cards online.

2010-01-05- Nova Merchant Funding, a major merchant account services firm offering seamless credit card processing to businesses around the country, offers advice on safely using credit cards online.

Although credit card processing firms continue to find new ways to protect the security of consumers who use their debit and credit cards online, Internet credit card fraud remains a very serious threat to many Americans, according to Jason Agivaive, owner and founder of Nova Merchant Funding (http://www.novamerchantfunding.com), a company dedicated to offering secure credit card processing and merchant account services at affordable prices.

“A recent study found that the cost of credit card Cyber crimes to the global economy may soon reach $1 trillion,” says Agivaive. “The cost to the United States alone has already topped nearly $8 billion.”

According to Agivaive, everyone involved in the credit card processing industry, as well as government officials, law enforcement officers, and merchants themselves, work hard to make the use of credit cards on the Internet as secure as possible. However, he notes that cardholders themselves play the most important role in safeguarding their own credit card information.

“There are a number of ways that consumers can make their online experience safer,” says Agivaive. “First and foremost is to only use your credit or debit card on reputable, trusted websites.”

He encourages consumers to be mindful of their own actions. To determine if a website is safe, Agivaive urges credit card users to check that they are entering their information on pages that display security enabled “https://” addresses and to be sure that that the security padlock icon is displayed at the bottom of their browser, signifying that they are dealing with an “authenticated” website.

“Consumers can also protect themselves by avoiding links in unsolicited emails,” says Agivaive. “Even of the email appears to have been sent from a reputable company that the credit card holder does business with, it is better to call the company directly before following any links.”

According to Agivaive, those who do fall victim to credit card fraud need not panic because consumers are rarely held liable for fraudulent charges. Victims, he says, should immediately report the theft to the credit card issuer and contact the three major credit bureaus and ask them to place a fraud alert on their credit report.

Nova Merchant Funding, founded in 1984, offers discounted retail credit card processing services, credit card processing equipment sales, credit card processing software, and merchant accounts with quality customer service. For more information, call 1-888-219-0027 or visit
http://www.novamerchantfunding.com