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Categories :: Advice Articles |
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 Category :: Advice |
Author :: Mike Bradley  |
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| Article Title :: How to Safely Buy a Diamond Online - Part 2 of 3 |
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It is now possible to save 40% to 60% by purchasing a diamond
engagement ring from an online diamond retailer, rather than
from a bricks-n-mortar High Street jeweller. Online diamond
retailers don't have retail shops, sales staff, large diamond
inventories and other associated operating expenses and are
therefore able to pass on the cost savings to consumers.
Of course, a diamond might be one of the largest one-off
purchases made in one's lifetime and so it is understandable
that many people may be uncomfortable paying for a diamond
before it has been seen and examined.
However, as long as the correct research and precautions are
taken there should be no reason to be fearful about buying
diamonds from Internet diamond merchants.
The three most important aspects of the pre-purchase checks that
must be carried out are:
1. Assurance that the diamond business is legitimate,
2. Assurance that the payment method is secure,
3. The risk of merchant fraud or failed delivery is mitigated.
In part two of this three part series we examine the second
aspect which is to be satisfied that your payment details will
be secure.
Assurance payment details will be secure
There a number of assurance companies that will provide an
additional level of comfort for online consumers. These
companies provide certification that a particular company's
website is relatively safe and secure for online purchases.
Consumer Protection Accreditation
This is an accreditation service which audits an applying online
retailer for ethical retailing and best practice data privacy.
If the audit is passed the retailer is permitted membership and
a unique membership number is provided, which can be added to
the retailer's website.
This number can then be cross-checked back to the issuing
accreditation body to ensure that the retailer is in fact a
member, giving confidence to the consumer that an online
purchase from that diamond retailer is safer.
Examples of these service companies are TRUSTe, Internet
Shopping Is Safe (ISIS), SafeBuy, ShopSafe.co.uk, WebTraderUK
and TrustUK.
Beware of fraudulent operators that have just added the
accreditation logo image to their website. A tell-tale sign of
this is when the logo is clicked the homepage of the
accreditation company's website appears, rather than the
legitimate detailed membership page for the retailer website you
are purchasing from.
Website Verification Service
Also known as web seals or trust marks, the website verification
services give Internet users information on the data security
and trustworthiness of websites. They check whether a website
URL address really is authentic or whether it has been hijacked
by hackers.
Before exchanging sensitive information, such as providing a
credit card number, personal identification information or other
confidential data, these services typically allow you to check
that the site has been verified by the trusted third party
company and that the retailer website is using appropriate
safeguarding measures against hackers.
An actual certified member website will have the logo displayed
prominently. When this logo is clicked the page displaying the
company's details within the verification company's website
should appear.
Common providers are ScanAlert/HackerSafe, SquareTrade,
Thwate/Verisign, TrustLogo/Comodo, and Trustwatch/GeoTrust.
Beware of fraudulent operators that have just added the
verification logo image to their website. A tell-tale sign of
this is when the logo is clicked the homepage of the
verification company's website appears rather than the
legitimate detailed membership page or signed security seal for
the retailer website you are purchasing from.
Secure Socket Layer
When making a purchase over the Internet make sure that the
order page URL starts with https:// and that there is a small
padlock symbol in the bottom right hand corner of the browser
window. This means that the data you enter on the page will be
more secure from hackers and your payment information will be
less at risk.
Credit Card Verification (CCV) Service
This service is an added protection for online or phone
purchases. Since the diamond merchant doesn't actually see the
credit/debit card in these situations then it's harder to be
sure that the person supplying the card number details is
actually the card holder and not someone who just happens to
know the credit/debit card number.
To address this problem, debit/credit card providers put a three
or four digit CCV number on the card (usually on the back of the
card on the signature strip) that is not embossed (raised). This
number doesn't get printed on sales receipts. Thus someone
trying to use the card number fraudulently is much less likely
to know this number if they do not have the card in their
physical possession.
This type of checking device really reinforces the importance of
notifying a credit card provider promptly if a debit/credit card
is ever lost or stolen so that card can be cancelled.
The most common of these services are MasterCard Secure Code and
Verified by VISA.
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