The Application of Pre-paid Cash Card for Consumers

There are two types of Pre-paid Debit Cards:
(i) ATM Cards
- designed for payment transactions requiring the secured entry of a PIN at both the Point of Sale or ATM
(ii) Branded (or Signature or full-function) Pre-paid Debit Cards
- can be used for transactions at every respective Point of Sale terminal carrying the Visa or the MasterCard logo (with or without PIN pad)
- can be used to pay bills and purchase online
There are several applications of pre-paid cash card for consumers, such as:-
(a) General Spending Debit Card
(i) For funds security
(ii) ATM cash withdrawals
(iii) Purchase at POS
(iv) Full-function Visa & MC branded Prepaid Debit card can be used for ‘signature-based’ purchases, bill payments and online purchases

(b) Payroll and commission payout Card
(c) Remittance – Funds Transfer within and across borders
(d) Affinity Group Card
(e) Travel Card
(f) Student Card
(g) Gift Card

**These debit cards can be issued to everybody with a valid government issued ID and verifiable address, for instance, “Bankable People” and “Un-bankable People” with:
(i) No bank account needed
(ii) No banking history needed
(iii) No credit check
(iv) Just about everybody approved, no declines
(v) No employment verification needed

Besides, there are also several benefits by using those pre-paid cash card, such as:-
- This payment quickly and securely moves “Checking Account Like” funds without the hassles or risks involved with paper checks
- Security features such as personal identification numbers (PINs) protect consumers against theft and fraud
- Consumers prefer Prepaid Cash Cards because they act virtually the same as cash, only with much more security
- Consumers who make debit card purchases are free of interest charges associated with credit cards
- Funds Transfer – Consumers can conveniently and inexpensively transfer funds to friends and relatives everywhere
- Bill Payment and On-line Purchases – Un-banked consumers can pay bills and purchase products and services on-line or through phone calls



http://www.onedebit.com/PrepaidDebitCardsOD.pdf

Credit Card Debts: Causes and Prevention

What is credit card? Credit card is any card that may be used repeatedly to borrow money or buy products and services on credit. It is issued by banks, savings and loans, retail stores, and other businesses. Credit cards can be very useful especially for emergencies. Therefore, using credit wisely is an important tool in establishing your financial independence. Unfortunately, a lot of people use credit cards as a "crutch." If they can't afford something they really want, they charge it. When it comes the time to pay the bill they pay the minimum amount due. This is where credit card debt arises where debt accumulates and increases via interest and penalties.

Causes of credit card debts:
1. Poor money management - Without money spending plan, you have no idea where your money is going. You may be spending unnecessarily each month.

2. Banking on a windfall - Very often, spending tomorrow's money today is very tempting. It is advisable that don’t spend until you hold an amount of money in hand.

3. Financial illiteracy - Many people don't understand how money works and grows, how to save and invest for a rainy day, or even why they should balance their checkbook.

Preventions:
1. Prioritize your debt repayment - Credit card users are advisable to pay off your debts to get rid of the highest interest payment first. List all of your credit card debts, and the amount you are paying each month. Pay off the lowest amount first. Then use that money to start paying off the second lowest amount.

2. Move your debts - This is by moving debt from a card with higher annual interest rate to a lower interest rate. This can eventually allow you to pay the lower amount of interest and buy more.

3. Cut up your cards so that you are not tempted to use them - Pick the one with the lowest interest rate and cut up the rest. The one you keep should be deemed an ‘emergency card.”

References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card

2. http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/debt/debt_manage_2004/top-10-causes.asp

3. http://ezinearticles.com/?Credit-Card-Debt---Prevention-Is-Better-Than-Cure&id=226244

Safeguard of Personal and Financial Data

Nowadays, the pace of technologies are accelerating, you may give out your personal and financial information in some way or other. It could be using a loyalty card when you are shopping, in your workplace or when you carry out a transaction with your bank. Crimes such as identity theft are increasing and it is even more important that you safeguard your information and protect yourself. Criminal groups can find out and use your personal details to open bank accounts, apply for credit cards and loans and get benefits in your name. Besides, there are some other ways that the criminal groups can steal an identity, such as dumpster diving, mail theft, impostors, and direct access to personal documents at home.
But, don’t panic! There are some simple steps you can take to safeguard your information. They are:-
- Store any documents that carry your personal details, such as passport, driving license, bank statement and utility bills in a safe place
- Shred or destroy personal documents carrying your personal details, such as bank statements, bills, receipts or credit card statements or any other document that carries your name, address or other personal details
- Ensure any receipts are disposed of safely, especially if your payment card details are imprinted
- If you move house you must redirect all your mail, inform your bank, utility companies and other organisations of your new address.
- In the public computer lab, do not access to your personal and financial details, such as bank balance.
- Create password for your confidential information to avoid people access to it. Remember, avoid using the birth date and the password must keep to yourself!
- Review your credit reports annually to safeguard your identity
- Avoid giving your personal details to unknown parties through phone or email.
- Check your bank and credit-card statements regularly for unusual or unfamiliar transactions
- Regularly get a copy of your personal credit file to check for any suspicious credit applications.
- Always consider who you are giving your personal information to

Review on Internet Security

Opinion

After read the post (http://ecommerze.blogspot.com/search/label/Internet%20Security) and visited those website stated above, I have gain some information on the how effective of the viruses being created by those cyber criminal groups. This viruses have given a lot of problem to the computer users and make these users face a lot of problems, such as data lost, important information being deleted, computer system breakdown, and more others. The recently critical problem is that the number of viruses is continuously increasing, and the anti-virus software is not sufficient to recover the problem. Besides, the viruses also can get through online; this may create even more inconvenience for the users. The users may just want to get some information from the Internet, but no people will know that from surfing Internet will get such ‘information’ that never thought to get. From the reports given by the computer profession, there stated that the most popular computer that viruses will always appear is the Microsoft Window’s based computer, this may because of the cyber criminal groups know that this Window’s software got many users and can easily create viruses to this software. There is online security threats in abundance transmitted in networking. For your knowledge, some of them include:
1.Spam
- spam is sent out without the permission of the recipients with attachments-images, PDFs, documents, spreadsheets or videos which may links to malicious sites or malware.
2.Phising
-A popular method of phishing is to steal consumers' personal identity data and financial account credentials through fake websites like eBay and PayPal.

3.Hacker
-A programmer specializing in the discovery of exploits in systems or in obtaining unauthorized access to systems through skills, tactics and detailed knowledge.

Finally is:
4.Viruses
-A dangerous computer program with the feature of being able to generate copies of itself, change computer settings and slow computer down.

Application Of Third Party Certification Programme In Malaysia

Security is the primary concern of entering into the new Internet economy. Many people deliberately limit the transactions they do online because they fear for the security of personal and financial information transmitted over the Web. With the increased phishing and spoofing attacks on the Internet, customers want to make sure that they are dealing with trusted parties when they conduct business online.

Third party certification is a procedure by which a third party gives written assurance that a product, process or service conforms to specified requirements . Certification authority (CA) issues digital certificates to guarantee customer’s information traveled over the Internet reaches the intended recipients and is safe from intruders. The two most popular CA are VeriSign and Trustgate.

VeriSign is the world’s leading Certificate Authority and global provider of SSL Certificates and the only leading provider who can guarantee that every Web site visitor will receive the strongest SSL encryption. The VeriSign Secured Seal ranked highest by a wide margin in perceived safety of visitors’ information, perceived trustworthiness, purchase likelihood, and overall preference and the most recognized tested marks.

VeriSign offers a few benefits.

1.It can help your company establish or improve customer trust by securing yourWeb site and information for business.

2.VeriSign Secure Site Services offers your company the power to secure its Web site for safe information transfer, especially for e-commerce and other financial transactions. It protects sensitive data transmitted between servers, consumers, and business partners.

3.Securing your Web site with VeriSign SSL also helps compliance with various governmental security regulations. Your businesscan use SSL for its powerful encryption capabilities and the increased consumer confidence that comes from VeriSign’s mark of security!

MSC Trustgate.com Sdn Bhd is a licensed Certification Authority (CA) incorporated in 1999 which operates out of the Multimedia Super Corridor to provide digital certification services, including digital certificates, cryptographic products, and software development to enable organizations to conduct their business securely over the Internet. Some of its products and services include SSL CERTIFICATE, Managed PKI, Digital ID, and MyTRUST as following:

1.SSL Certificate for Internet, Intranet and Server Security
One of the 3 types of SSL Certificate include Secure Server ID which protects the transfer of sensitive data on Web sites, intranets, and extranets. The second type is Secure Server ID which adopts the strongest encryption commercially available for secure communications via Server Gated Cryptography (SGC) technology.

2.Managed PKI for Enterprise Trust Services
A fully integrated enterprise platform designed to secure intranet, extranet, and Internet applications by combining flexibility,performance, and scalability with high availability and security. this solution helps to protect on-line transactions, digitally sign them and control the access to intranetsand extranets.

References:

http://www.tamingthebeast.net/tools/business-security-certifications.htm
http://www.msctrustgate.com/
http://www.verisign.com/
http://www.guardianecommerce.net/guardconsumer.htm

The threat of online security: How safe is our data?

As E-Commerce is growing, managing online security is becoming a big challenge on the Internet today. We need to worry about security for our personal computer as threats can come in from any direction.

Below is a list of most common online security threat.
1. Spam mail
By definition, spam is sent without the permission of the recipients.According to survey security-related threats and attack incident 2007 in Malaysia, total 38601 emails is spam. Nowadays, the quality of spam has improved, it can be sent out with attachments-images, PDFs, documents, spreadsheets or videos which may links to malicious sites or malware.

2. Viruses
A computer virus is a dangerous computer program with the characteristic feature of being able to generate copies of itself, and change our computer settings and slow our computer down. The most damaging viruses are the ones that are simply designed to cause as much destruction as possible, such as deleting important files and turning your computer into a worthless wreck.

3. Phishing attacks
A popular method of phishing is to steal consumers' personal identity data and financial account credentials through fake websites. Phishing messages pretend to be from eBay, PayPal, or the like. The scams sent out e-mails to them and ask them to log in the fake websites to disclose information about their financial accounts. If you enter the information, they steal your username and password and you are sunk.

4. Social engineering
Social engineering is a term that describes a non-technical kind of intrusion that relies heavily on human interaction and the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain otherwise secure data by conning an individual into revealing secure information. For example, a person using social engineering to break into a computer network would try to gain the trust of someone who is authorized to access the network in order to get them to disclose information that compromises the network's security.

5. Spyware attacks
Spyware is one of the online threats that is designed to steal information from your computer without your authorization. Spyware is dangerous in that it can steal your personal information, such as documents, passwords, credit card numbers, bank accounts, for the sole benefit of the people behind the spyware.

Reference:

1.Top 10 Online Security Threats To Your PC http://techcruser.blogspot.com/2007/05/online-security-threats-to-your-pc.html