Are web merchants liable if credit card information from their customers is stolen? Are they responsible?

Question

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?

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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.

Answer 3

i don't believe in this get at the same time the provider service is at fault or responsible, the in problem-free words responsible individual is the customer who used the cardboard. in case you are able to be certain with the police you and your girlfriend were no the position close to the institution in question and close circuit television cameras can be certain that the stolen card consumer replaced into at that institution the police must be able to music the criminal down very surely as his or her face will be on the video tapes. the 2d aspect i favor to make the following is interior maximum folk of establishments contained in the united kingdom have chip and pin units in u . s . of america i believe that's different yet i imagine you nevertheless choose the pin decision with the cardboard to make any purchases and in which case how did the criminal receive the pin decision? the purely right aspect is you reported a transaction in procedure how lengthy does it take to cancel the cardboard as in case you've been quick it ought to were cancelled before it were given processed and therefore saving the money that for now a minimum of has been lost.

Answer 4

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>

Answer 5

If you want to accept credit cards, I endorse dealing with Payanywhere. They offer budget friendly commission charges. They have zero set up or month to month charges. I've been taking credit cards with them for more than 5 years and I'm pleased with their service. You should check it out at: http://is.gd/payanywhere

Answer 6

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.

Answer 7

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

Answer 8

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.