How do you send credit card info?
Jun 12th, 2016, 01:35 PM
#21
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<i><font color=#555555>"I have to work with data for the govt and have security/privacy training and certification (for the data I have to use, which is health data)"</font></i>
I am surprised by Christina's answer, and I would not trust her opinion or experience by itself. It is a well known fact that for sensitive data; health care officials, legal entities, and financial institutions in the U.S. continue to rely on Fax transmission. There are plenty of articles available on the internet that support this fact. The chances for theft of a single fax transmission are slim to none. The argument that the fax is in insecure hands on the receiving end assumes that all small businesses in Europe behave in an unprofessional manner and that small businesses notoriously hire thieves and ex-cons. This is a fantasy. While no system or method is 100% fool-proof, misleading information on this subject is rampant.
<i><font color=#555555>"Ever had your email account hacked? It happens all the time."</font></i>
Andrew offered the smartest response so far on this thread. Email is hacked all the time, especially on free accounts like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. Most vulnerable are the users who remain logged-in all the time and never change their password. I know several people who have had their email accounts hacked more than once. I know one stubborn guy who has had his account hacked three times.
Your emails can remain in the cloud, on a server, or whatever you want to call it, forever, unless someone deletes them. Even if deleted, the information can be retrieved. There is nothing about email that is safe. And just because some people are willing to send sensitive information via email doesn't make it a safe or smart decision for you.
I am surprised by Christina's answer, and I would not trust her opinion or experience by itself. It is a well known fact that for sensitive data; health care officials, legal entities, and financial institutions in the U.S. continue to rely on Fax transmission. There are plenty of articles available on the internet that support this fact. The chances for theft of a single fax transmission are slim to none. The argument that the fax is in insecure hands on the receiving end assumes that all small businesses in Europe behave in an unprofessional manner and that small businesses notoriously hire thieves and ex-cons. This is a fantasy. While no system or method is 100% fool-proof, misleading information on this subject is rampant.
<i><font color=#555555>"Ever had your email account hacked? It happens all the time."</font></i>
Andrew offered the smartest response so far on this thread. Email is hacked all the time, especially on free accounts like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. Most vulnerable are the users who remain logged-in all the time and never change their password. I know several people who have had their email accounts hacked more than once. I know one stubborn guy who has had his account hacked three times.
Your emails can remain in the cloud, on a server, or whatever you want to call it, forever, unless someone deletes them. Even if deleted, the information can be retrieved. There is nothing about email that is safe. And just because some people are willing to send sensitive information via email doesn't make it a safe or smart decision for you.
Jun 12th, 2016, 01:49 PM
#22
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<i><font color=#555555>"Hardly any establishment in Europe, whether a hotel or anything else, has ever acknowledged receiving a fax or answered a fax request."</font></i>
StCirq and I must live in two different worlds. I've been sending credit card information to Europe via Fax for over 30 years. As far as I can remember, European businesses started the practice.
In my business, show business, work cannot begin without a signed contract, which begins with a signed Work Order. I work in Europe all the time. Signed contracts and signed WOs must be faxed back to my office. If there is time, they can be mailed.
All my fax transmissions to-and-from Europe receive follow-up emails, acknowledging receipt. Only recently have I experienced younger business people questioning the need for fax. If they want to do business with serious people, they learn to get a fax machine pronto.
StCirq and I must live in two different worlds. I've been sending credit card information to Europe via Fax for over 30 years. As far as I can remember, European businesses started the practice.
In my business, show business, work cannot begin without a signed contract, which begins with a signed Work Order. I work in Europe all the time. Signed contracts and signed WOs must be faxed back to my office. If there is time, they can be mailed.
All my fax transmissions to-and-from Europe receive follow-up emails, acknowledging receipt. Only recently have I experienced younger business people questioning the need for fax. If they want to do business with serious people, they learn to get a fax machine pronto.
Jun 12th, 2016, 11:35 PM
#23
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In my business, work also cannot start without a signed contract which also begins with a work order and I work globally, not just in Europe, where I am based. Signed WO's, contracts etc are scanned and sent by email in PDF format. I have not had anything faxed to me for many years and that means the companies I deal with also do not use fax.
Jun 13th, 2016, 12:52 AM
#24
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<i><font color=#555555>"contracts etc are scanned and sent by email in PDF format"</font></i>
My business has close ties to executives at Adobe. PDFs have been so problematic through the years, we decided to limit their use. We use them for presentation only. There are tons of articles and warnings from Adobe on the internet concerning PDF security, virus transmission, and hacking issues. We no longer keep track.
Early on, I enjoyed the features of PDF, but many small businesses don't know how to handle security and password encryption, and proper functionality will depend on the version of Acrobat one uses. There's a learning curve to proper PDF creation, and too many people in business don't want to take the time to learn or keep their software updated.
My business has close ties to executives at Adobe. PDFs have been so problematic through the years, we decided to limit their use. We use them for presentation only. There are tons of articles and warnings from Adobe on the internet concerning PDF security, virus transmission, and hacking issues. We no longer keep track.
Early on, I enjoyed the features of PDF, but many small businesses don't know how to handle security and password encryption, and proper functionality will depend on the version of Acrobat one uses. There's a learning curve to proper PDF creation, and too many people in business don't want to take the time to learn or keep their software updated.
Jun 13th, 2016, 04:24 AM
#25
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Also I have had hotels tell me to be sure to send 2 email mails with cc info...have also sent faxes in the last couple years and had them answered when email was not successful so they are still around
Jun 13th, 2016, 04:25 AM
#26
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Scanning is your answer, or fax, if the hotel has no https secure booking engine. The point is that a scan or a fax is an image of a sort, not text. Make sure to scan as image, not PDF.
Or talk to them on the phone and just tell them the number.
This is definitely more secure than just emailing the number.
As for trusting the vendor, that is *always* the case, no matter what the method.
Or talk to them on the phone and just tell them the number.
This is definitely more secure than just emailing the number.
As for trusting the vendor, that is *always* the case, no matter what the method.
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