Are web merchants liable if credit card information from their customers is stolen? Are they responsible?
Question by Suntoosoon: Are web merchants liable if credit card information from their customers is stolen? Are they responsible?
Hi, I purchased a few items on-line a few monthts ago and my credit card information was stolen from this online vendor. I just found out some bogus charges on my account that were charged on that card used w/ this vendor. What is their responsability on this? I did not receive any e-mail form them saying my credit card data was stolen, I am sure that other customers of them might have been affected. How do I proceed? Should I call them to let them know they have an unsecure server and ask them to notify their customers? Do I report this to an authority to make sure they make them take any action?
Best answer:
Answer by Big H
I’m sure its somewhere deep in their EULA that they aren’t liable for stolen information. And it would probably stand up in court unless you can prove they didn’t take any precautions to secure it….
my $ .02
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
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Probably, but proving your card numbers were stolen from them would be incredibly difficult and expensive. If thousands are stolen, they’ll be found out.
I suggest you call them and ask about it.
you need to contact your financial institution to get it clarified and then they will launch an investigation into the fact also you can make a police report with your local police department and they can help you out as well.
When you buy something online, you usually enter a secured page where all your personal information are encrypted and will not shared with any party.
Vendors are responsible to provide secure page for online transaction, which include your credit card number. Unless you are taking things for granted, you won’t care whether the page is encrypted or not. Such careless will be your sole responsibility.
If you find the page is secured, then it should be just fine. The “golden lock”, the “https” etc, appeared correctly and acting as such, then it’s no longer vendor’s responsibilities on your transaction. The one you should pursue is the security company itself, like Verisign, thawte, etc.
They often offer warranty on your data shall your private information found leakage. Contact them and ask for reimbursement.
Hope this helps.
Are web merchants liable if credit card information from their customers is stolen? Are they responsible?
Absolutely! Visa and MasterCard place strict guidelines on merchants to ensure that credit card information is safeguarded. From everything regarding the security of the website, to the security of the location, and even employees that have access to this information.
How should you proceed?
Report the fraudulent charges to your bank immediately! They will take it from there and undergo an investigation. You will also get your money back. Calling the merchant and voicing your concerns about their server would be a good deed, although they probably will not notify their customers.
Is the merchant liable for the charges?
Not necessarily. If the merchant gets too many chargebacks they will be at risk of loosing their merchant account and will no longer be able to accept credit cards. That is a devastating situation for an online business.
Good advice above. By reporting it to your financial institution, you take a step that will give you a better chance at recovering the funds.
Next step to keep others from getting into this same situation, report them to Visa or MC. Visa and MC can impose a fine starting at $ 10,000 and go as far as blocking this merchant from accepting visa and MC.
Hope this helps>