Companies have to give them credit: college students are learning to use their Visas and MasterCards wisely, even when shopping online.
Research from last year shows about 67 percent of college students had credit cards, and they were less likely than adults to incur finance charges, said Daniel Drummond, spokesman for Your Credit Card Companies, a group that works to improve consumer understanding of the finance industry.
But college students sometimes overlook the increased risks that come with using credit cards, especially if the cards are used to make online purchases.
People using credit cards online are susceptible to computer crimes such as identity theft or phishing
a scam in which personal and financial data are stolen through the use of fraudulent e-mails requesting updated personal information.
Online customers also are at risk for pharming attacks -scams in which e-mails lure consumers to illegitimate Web sites that look authentic.
Despite these concerns, credit cards remain the safest way for students to make payments online because credit cards, unlike debit cards, do not take money directly from a bank account, Drummond said.
Some Ohio University students find credit cards to be especially beneficial when paying for tuition through the CASHNET SmartPay electronic payment plan offered by OU's Office of the Bursar.
CASHNET SmartPay allows students to make credit card tuition payments online, but the students incur a 2.9 percent service charge based on the amount that is being paid.
Since Sept. 1, 2004, the Bursar's Office has accepted $2,366,000 from 4,346 credit card payments, and the numbers are increasing, said OU Bursar Sherry Downs.
I think (students) feel safe Downs said. Online business is increasing at the university and in the real world so I think people are becoming more comfortable with e-business transactions.
Students can increase their safety further by taking extra precautions when shopping online.
Reading all legal terms is the first step to safely shopping online, according to the Web site www.safeshopping.org, created by the American Bar Association to help consumers safely make online transactions.
Students also can check the security of a consumer Web site by looking for an unbroken key or padlock symbol at the bottom of the screen or by looking for https: at the beginning of the Web site's address.
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Kantele Franko
