Internet commerce is finally starting to hit the big time, and despite the thrill of shopping for muffins and CDs and computer books and pantyhose at 3 AM from the privacy of my home, I just can't bring myself to completely trust those sites that sell stuff via the Net. Seems to me there's just too many things that can go wrong, not the least of which is that some Net hacker will sniff my packets, get my credit card number and find out that I prefer blueberry muffins. No, of course not. These same people give their credit cards to part-time waiters in restaurants, with no fear that the waiter is going to take down the number and expiry date and start ordering a new wardrobe from Land's End or wherever. Then there's the other one, the people who won't send their credit card over the Net, but who'll happily fax it to the company.
Internet commerce is as safe as any other credit card or debit card commerce system.
Safer, in fact. There are fewer hackers out there who know how to steal credit card numbers than there are thieves ready to take your wallet. No, your little fairy story doesn't ease my mind at all. In fact, you've made my point exactly. All it takes to have your credit card number stolen in your home town is a single gas station attendant whose eyes are bigger than his wallet.