If you are shopping online there are several things that you should consider for you to be able to protect your identity especially your financial information. You have to be aware that the internet is full of people who are after your financial information. These people will then use your information to commit fraud or other cybercrimes.
If you are purchasing online using your credit card, make sure that you are sending the information to the right company. Also, you need to make sure that the connection is secured to ensure that your information is safe. Remember that the hacker only needs your name, credit card number, and its expiration date to commit fraud.
Look for the padlock sign on your browser which indicates that the website is legitimate and is trusted. This sign is usually located at either the lower right portion of the browser or at the address bar itself.
There are additional safety features that credit cards have which you can use to protect your identity online. An example is the virtual credit card generator which is provided by your issuing bank. You can log in on your online account and use the online generator to create a virtual credit card. This virtual credit card can only be used once. So it doesn't matter if the hacker can gain access to the credit card number because he can no longer use it.
Be careful when you are entering your log in details on a website. You also have to make sure that the website that you are entering your log in details on is the real website. There are what we call "Phishing sites" and these are website that look like the real ones. If you enter your information on this site, the hacker could gain access to your information.