With the explosion of e-commerce in recent years, financial institutions such as banks and credit card companies have become prime targets for computer frauds. Such crimes carry potentially very pay offs and are often extremely difficult to prosecute since they can be committed from any corners of the globe and within the shelter of one's own abode. Long gone was the dusty image of bank robbers blowing open a safe with dynamites in old Western movies, in this new wave of cybertheft, all it takes is a computer and a connection to the internet.

The following guidelines provide helpful tips on how to  protect yourself from fraud when you shop online (source-- MSNBC website):

• Use only one credit card online to make it easier to identify fraudulent charges.
• Use only a credit or charge card — never a bank debit card — for online purchases. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, consumers are liable for a maximum of $50 if a credit card is used fraudulently and have the right to dispute charges under certain circumstances and temporarily withhold payment while the creditor is investigating them. Debit cards don't offer such protection — using one online puts your entire checking or savings account at risk.(Note:a  debit card is a card issued by a bank that allows you to withdraw money directly from your bank accounts. Most stores in the US would also allow you to make purchases with it.)
• Be sure to print a copy of your purchase order and confirmation number for your records.
• Check your bills carefully each month and cancel the card immediately if you find any bogus charges.
• Assume that any credit card you use online can be stolen. It might not, but that way you have account numbers handy to simplify and hasten the process of canceling the card.
• Use caution when using smaller online retail sites, which tend to use off-the-shelf e-commerce software and have fewer resources to devote to security.
• Send e-mail to a retail site asking whether users' credit card information is stored by the company. You can ask the company to remove your data from its database. Or, if you like the convenience offered by Web sites that keep your card numbers on file, ask if the site encrypts your personal information before it's stored. If the answer is no, you should shop elsewhere.
• Don't provide credit card information in response to a solicitation.
• Regularly check your credit history through a credit-reporting company.

It is recently reported by MSNBC that information on over 485,000 credit cards was stolen from an e-commerce site and then secretly stored on a U.S. government agency’s Web site. This incident," the largest known case of cybertheft", took place over a year ago in January 1999, but the details of which is just beginning to be made public. Click here for a complete coverage of the story at the MSNBC website.

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