First of all, shop only with online merchants you trust. Consider entering your payment card numbers each time you purchase something, instead of allowing the site to store your number for future purchases. Then, make sure any shopping site is secure by looking for the SSL encryption (“https://”, not just “http://”) in the browser’s address bar and a closed padlock or unbroken key in the browser window frame. Never enter debit or credit card information or bank account numbers unless you check this first. Most legitimate commercial websites have SSL encryption to make it safe to shop online. And confirm the website is authentic. Click (or double-click if necessary) the padlock and key icons to check for a match between the name in the Web address and on the security certificate. If the names are different, you may be on a bogus site. Before shopping on a site you have never heard of, do some online research to see if anyone has complained about the site. Simply enter the site’s name plus the word “complaints” in a Web browser.