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hajime

macrumors G3
Original poster
Jul 23, 2007
8,164
1,409
Hello, is it better not to give out credit card info when purchasing things from startups or Kickstarter?
 
When you make payment through Kickstarter, they are actually processing the payment and storing the info, not the startup you are backing I believe, so that is reasonably safe... but yeah, the more places you use your info online, the more chances for a breach and theft. Most sites use major 3rd party merchant processors or frameworks behind the scenes making things relatively safe, but you have no way to know or check what other stupid things they might be doing.
 
That's actually a reasonable question to ask.

I notice that they don't have a certificate and don't specify what they're using for processing...

Nor do they accept PayPal.

I would order their products elsewhere for that reason.
 
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Some stores offer two options: pay by paypal or pay by Amazon. What is mean by Pay by Amazon? Sometimes there is an option of Pay by Credit Card but then the online store directs me to an electronics form asking for credit card info and address. At the bottom, it asks if I want to create an paypal account or not. I chose no but after purchase, I got a thank you message by paypal. Next, by email, I got an invoice with paypal on it. How does this work?
 
... but yeah, the more places you use your info online, the more chances for a breach and theft.

Yeah, I try to minimize my exposure and only buy from Amazon, or only sources where they use a major payment processor where I'm already setup (i.e., PayPal or Amazon).

Some stores offer two options: pay by paypal or pay by Amazon. What is mean by Pay by Amazon? Sometimes there is an option of Pay by Credit Card but then the online store directs me to an electronics form asking for credit card info and address. At the bottom, it asks if I want to create an paypal account or not. I chose no but after purchase, I got a thank you message by paypal. Next, by email, I got an invoice with paypal on it. How does this work?

Amazon payment is basically like PayPal - they provide the backend payment processing, and as an Amazon customer, you don't have to provide your CC details to the merchant.

A merchant/online-store/etc., can use PayPal for CC payments, so you can just provide that information on the fly, or if you have PP, login and complete the transaction. Works like this:

Store connects to PP with a merchant ID number and a transaction ID (of the purchase)
PP completes the transaction, then routes you back to the store with a confirmation code
Store updates its records to reflect a successful (or potentially a denied or canceled) payment

Always be _very_ aware when you're being redirected, to confirm the site is in fact PayPal (or Amazon), otherwise you could inadvertently supply your credentials to a bogus site. I don't mean to make it sound like it happens all the time, and clearly if it's a legit storefront, they want to be paid, just always be a smart shopper.

I use two-step authorization for PayPal, so during a redirect, I login, and I have to respond with a code that's sent as a text message to my mobile :)
 
I have purchased things from a company in the US twice. Each time paid by Paypal even I did not set up a paypal account. No problem. Recently, when I tried to purchase again, paypal refused to accept my card. I ended up paying via Amazon. Do I have to worry about being redirected to doggy site if I have dealt with the company before? How to confirm if the redirected site is really Paypal or amazon? After purchase, I logged on to my amazon account but I cannot find this record. I suppose the purchase does not show up as I did not buy direct from Amazon but paid by amazon. Is this normal?
 
Yeah, I try to minimize my exposure and only buy from Amazon, or only sources where they use a major payment processor where I'm already setup (i.e., PayPal or Amazon).



Amazon payment is basically like PayPal - they provide the backend payment processing, and as an Amazon customer, you don't have to provide your CC details to the merchant.

A merchant/online-store/etc., can use PayPal for CC payments, so you can just provide that information on the fly, or if you have PP, login and complete the transaction. Works like this:

Store connects to PP with a merchant ID number and a transaction ID (of the purchase)
PP completes the transaction, then routes you back to the store with a confirmation code
Store updates its records to reflect a successful (or potentially a denied or canceled) payment

Always be _very_ aware when you're being redirected, to confirm the site is in fact PayPal (or Amazon), otherwise you could inadvertently supply your credentials to a bogus site. I don't mean to make it sound like it happens all the time, and clearly if it's a legit storefront, they want to be paid, just always be a smart shopper.

I use two-step authorization for PayPal, so during a redirect, I login, and I have to respond with a code that's sent as a text message to my mobile :)

Good advice.
 
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