Maxim left few clues, not even cookie crumbs and an empty milk glass, and his identity remains unknown. CD Universe called in security experts to correct the situation and remains in business. This is exactly the sort of nightmare that reinforces the belief held by some that the Internet is not a safe place to give out credit card numbers. Online transactions often pose a greater risk to merchants than to consumers, due to credit card fraud. However, even fraud in online transaction is comparable to that in telemarketing, since no signature or magnetic strip is involved in either type of transaction.
Online transactions are secure on the consumer side due to encryption built into most web browsers.
Encryption is the process by which data is scrambled and then sent from one computer to another, where it is re-assembled. As Oakes notes, encryption is usually too tough for hackers to crack, so they most often resort to trying to break into computers where credit card data is stored. Those computers are often very difficult to crack, as well, but lapses in security do occur, such as a February leak of personal information, including phone and credit card numbers, at the Internet company RealNames. It is suspected that 15,000 entries from a customer database were leaked before the hole opened by hackers was closed. Do some research on companies with which you plan to conduct business.