 The Patio Homestore® wants to reassure you that you are shopping on the safest site on the internet. A "Safe Harbor" so to speak. We are an Authorize.net verified merchant and take your online shopping experience very seriously. This site is 100% PCI Compliant, a set of security standards developed by the credit card companies to protect customer credit card data. Rest assured, we value you as a customer and hope you come back many times over the years. We know we can only gain your trust if you trust us. Please don't hesitate to call if you have any questions. We are here to assist. 888-564-4744.
Fact: Online shopping has grown 30% in the last year alone and is set to grow exponentially over the coming decade. It's important for Online Retailers such as The Patio Homestore® do everything we can to be a part of the community that protects their customer's privacy.
Tips: If you want to avoid the crowded shopping centers and long lines, consider online shopping for a simple, convenient way to research and buy items without braving the malls. But when making purchases online, it’s important to safeguard against identity theft and fraud. As shopping online becomes more and more popular, an increasing number of consumers are discovering that their personal information, including credit/debit card details, user names and passwords, has been hacked. Protect yourself against identity theft by following these tips when making purchases online:
Is PCI Compliance a Law? Should it be?
Is PCI compliance a law? The short answer is no. The long answer is that while it is not currently a federal law, there are state laws that are already in effect (and some that may go into effect) to force components of the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) into law. In addition, there is a big push by legislatures and industry trade association to enact a federal law around data security and breach notification.
Protect passwords.
As you would with your ATM PIN, be sure to protect any and all passwords. Don’t share your password with anyone. Also, choose passwords with care. Steer clear of easy-to-guess names and numbers such as your name, year of birth or address. For the most protection, choose strong passwords that include a combination of lower- and upper-case letters as well as numbers.
Look for third-party seals of approval.
To decide whether or not a site is trustworthy, look for seals of approval from reputable third parties as GeoTrust, VeriSign, PCI Compliant, Authorize.Net, Secure Seals, or TRUSTe. These logos tell you that this site uses the proper procedures to protect customer information. Click on these logos to verify that they include relevant information about the site. If the name or URL is different, go elsewhere to make your purchases.
Read privacy policies.
If a website is PCI-compliant, meaning it meets the highest data security standards, it will include a privacy policy that clearly addresses information security. To ensure that your information won’t be used by any other companies, be sure to read the privacy policy before making purchases.
Submit information only to secure sites. Before entering information into any online form, make sure the site is completely secure. In the web address, there should be an “s” after the “http.” This “s” tells you that any data submitted will be encrypted, meaning your information is scrambled as it’s transmitted through the Internet. Also, look for a closed padlock emblem in the web address bar and/or in the bottom right-hand corner of the browser. An open padlock means this isn’t a secure site. If you don’t see either of these signs, your information is susceptible to theft.
Watch out for phishing.
Phishing occurs when customers are unsuspectingly redirected to an authentic-looking site in attempts to get hold of sensitive customer information. In many cases, phishing websites are designed to look like the trusted websites customers think they are using; however, the URL will be different. Many phishing attacks also take place through e-mail when customers click on links. Avoid phishing attacks by not clicking on suspicious links and checking the URL consistently throughout the checkout process to make sure you’re still on the right website.
Make sure to sign out.
If the online store you’re shopping at requires signing in, be sure to sign out after completing your transaction; don’t simply close your browser when you’re done. Ecommerce websites often use session cookies that retain information from page to page through the checkout process. If you don’t sign out, hackers will be able to access these session cookies for up to 15 minutes, plenty of time to get your information.
If you believe you’ve been the victim of online identity theft or fraud, be sure to report all instances to The Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. A partnership between the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Internet Crime Complaint Center gathers and directs instances of Internet crime to the appropriate local, state, federal or international agency to investigate.
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