Ever since the Internet was introduced a the new revolutionary medium of information exchange, more and more companies, like eBay, MSN, Yahoo and recently Google have drawn the attention of the public to new online ways of keeping money circulating through the World Wide Web. By marketing or planning to introduce online payment tools, such as PayPal or the extensively discussed GWallet, software engineers focus on designing systems that will ease the experience and increase the safety of online purchases. In fact, very few of today’s Internet users have not at some point in time saved their personal credit card information into an online server in order to enable faster retrievals and buy products or services with just a few clicks.

From the days the first credit card was introduced as a payment method, to today’s worldwide usage rates of online payment systems, people have always seemed curious to be able to try these new and convenient methods of conducting business. Quickly, the old-fashioned face-to-face interaction with the merchant has been replaced by online stores, which offer great varieties and accommodate the needs of consumers to compare prices before conducting their online purchases. But, as more and more instances of fraud are daily reported, people today seem less excited and more reluctant to trust unknown dealers and provide their personal data to invisible data banks. Common threats like identity fraud and online credit card scams further frighten consumers and increase their insecurity in relation to the fragile safety of contemporary online purchases. This new unsafe online reality has undeniably altered the Internet environment that many businesses have decided to use exclusively for their operations. As corporate executives have witnessed their sales figures dropping and their profit margins reducing, they have exercised additional pressure to banks issuing the credit cards, which in turn have requested insurance companies to protect them, as well as the final consumer, against scammers and hackers.

Bringing people back to the old notion of a more direct, personal exchange has had both positive and negative outcomes. While the original cash payment is still something used when one visits the grocery store or the local pharmacy, the usual method of paying for an airplane ticket or a new bathroom vanity has been to use a plastic credit card. Depending on the amount of money needed to perform a particular purchase, people have been selecting the most convenient payment method to cover their financial needs. But while this was once only a matter of convenience, today the process of selecting to use the e-wallet choice or actually issuing a check for a new couch has been developed into a matter of deciding to take an unnecessary risk. Thus, it is essential for contemporary consumers to understand the forces that drive consumption patterns as well as to explore the various existing mechanisms so as to eliminate online threats. Being aware and staying informed is no more a matter of choice, but a necessity.