MusicianWear.com employs a  secured payment system from VeriSign™.  They are the undisputed, world leader in secure, payment services and online payment systems.  The people  at Thawte authenticate we are who we say we are, and certify that we use secure technology  to protect our customer's data.  You can email or otherwise contact either of these companies & ask them who we are.  (remember, our parent company is named BLACKSTAR)  We are also listed with Dun & Bradstreet.

Click on a logo to learn more

            These companies are universally known and respected as leaders  in secure, safe,  online credit  card transactions.  VeriSign™  does not actually process  (approve / disapprove)  your credit card. They encrypt (scramble & code) the information you input on our order page for optimum  protection as it is transmitted for approval to the people who gave you your credit card &  then back to our site.  VeriSign™  utilizes state-of-the-art encryption technology.  This helps to keep your purchase as safe, possibly safer,  than  any typical credit card transaction  that you might  make at  a store or  restaurant.  

            Our site is secured using a Thawte Digital Certificate. , Thawte was bought by Verisign in 2001.   "Digital Certs" ensures that all information you send to us via the World Wide Web will be encrypted.   If any other internet user should, somehow, intercept the communication between us (which is highly unlikely) they will only be able to see it in encrypted (garbled / coded) form.  Certificate technology allows only us to read the data input on our site in plain text form.  Thawte also verifies our identity to assure you that we are who we say we are.  They check our business license & other items that assist them in making sure we are a legitimate business.   In short, the people at Thawte provide an additional layer of confidence for anyone making a purchase on our site.  If you want to know more about Digital Certificates, click here:   http://www.thawte.com/server/overview.html

At Musicianwear.com, the page you place your name, address & credit card data on begins with "https" not just "http".  (the "s" is for "secure") You can see it in your browser address bar above.   ANYTIME you place an online order, make sure this is the case.    Once you're on any "https" page, right-click on the body of the page, then click "Properties".  Then, click on "Certificates" to see the dates the cert is valid and other information.   As you look around our online store & select items, sizes & colors, your still on the "http" pages.   But once you click on "CHECK OUT", you are then taken into the high security "shell" of the 128-bit, SSL (secure socket layer) encrypted area.    The "https" is only on the "Checkout" pages because that is where you are providing us your personal information.   

We are first notified of your order via email HOWEVER, the email does NOT contain your credit card information.  This way, the data is never able to be intercepted over email channels.  Rather, your card information is always in a "secure online environment" and it is processed through VeriSign's secure channels to our card processor, Nova Information Systems, one of the world's largest card processing companies.   We securely log onto the VeriSign system and retrieve all necessary information, including your card number, while in "https" mode through secure servers.  We take the additional step of not normally keeping a copy of your order on our computer for longer than 30 days.  At our own, additional expense, we often call banks or other card issuers or even customers,  to check out credit card information.  We frequently have called to report suspicious card activity to card issuers, so that they can advise their customers before any fraudulent activity can take place. 

Based on our years of online, credit card transactions, it is our experience  that the bulk of fraudulent transactions on our site have originated from foreign countries, or from foreign citizens living in the USA.  For this reason, we automatically reject any orders originating from, or shipping to the most suspicious countries.  (we currently rank Indonesia and Nigeria as the worst offenders)  

 We suggest you take precautions whenever you use your credit card, on or offline.  Here are some things you can do to help protect your card number & personal information;

1)  Know your credit card issuers policy regarding fraudulent purchases.  In most cases,  major credit cards AND DEBIT CARDS obtained from legitimate issuers, will protect you against ALL fraudulent purchases, both online and off.  Your primary obligation is to notice a fraudulent purchase as soon as possible and alert them.  Therefore....

2)  ALWAYS examine your monthly, or online statement closely and contact your card issuer or the merchant about any transactions that appear unfamiliar to you.  Identity thieves often rely on the fact that some time will pass before you become aware of their activities on your account.   Some experts believe those with online banking have an advantage in spotting suspicious card activity because they can see their purchases /activity  anytime they want, rather than waiting to examine the paper statement that comes once a month.   Try to get in the habit of reviewing your online or paper statements;  it only takes a few minutes and it's most likely the first way you will become aware of any suspicious activity.

3)  Look for the Digital Certificate.....any legitimate web site engaged in e- commerce on the internet has such a certificate, unless it's mail order only.  (remember, "https")

4)  Protect your computer against SPYWARE.  Some sites, emails or advertisements, unbeknownst to you, can place small "web bugs" , tracking cookies or other malicious code on your computer that will retrieve things for them, such as passwords, account numbers and other sensitive data.   Although most spyware is for anonymous data collection ( "tracking " or "data mining" cookies) , it's hard to spot the malicious ones.  There are 2 well-respected, and world-known spyware companies that will give you the finest anti-spyware software FOR FREE, as long as you are using it on a personal computer.  (they make their money from donations and by selling their software to larger companies) Like anti-virus software, you must update the "definitions" regularly as they work hard to keep up with the latest spyware.  Once installed on your computer, you can run a scan that will, in minutes, find, quarantine and/or remove all unwanted spyware.   (the first time you run it, you will be absolutely amazed and what it finds! )   A side benefit is that your computer will likely run much faster  because your computer's resources will not be used to do the spyware's work.   We highly recommend these two companies FREE SOFTWARE:

       AD-AWARE SE  by LavaSoft : -  http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

       SPYBOT SEARCH & DESTROY:   http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

      (we use them BOTH and we run them at least twice a day)

5)  Never give out your card number or personal information to anyone who calls you on the phone or contacts you by email.  Only provide this information when you initiate the transaction.

6)  Contact the merchant at your convenience & ask any questions you like.  If you are interested in a product or service that is first presented to you via email or a telephone call, don't act right away.  Rather, hang up or close the email.  Call directory assistance & ask for their phone number to make sure they are listed.  Do a search engine query on the company name & see what comes up.   Once you are satisfied they appear legitimate, then initiate the next step when you are ready.

7)  Remember that NO legitimate company will ever ask for your personal information within an email or send you an email with a link to a site, for providing your personal information.  If you are ever directed, redirected to, or somehow end up on a site you are unsure about, close your browser window immediately.  Then, reopen it again, retype the web site name of the company you want to go to or, use Yahoo, Google or other trusted search engines links.  Be particularly suspicious of any email that threatens your account status or good standing because your information is "outdated" or needs to be verified.

8)  Recent studies, including a BBB report in January 2006,  indicate that identity theft is most likely to occur as a result of  an "in person" experience.  The BBB survey found that the most (39%) of identity thefts take place by those who actually come in contact with or see your credit card , checkbook or wallet.  These could be thieves or unscrupulous clerks /wait persons & others.  The "real world" requires just as much, if not more so, card security procedures as the "online world" requires.   The  second most ID theft cases, according to the BBB, came from being victimized by  family members,  friends or acquaintances .  Even lost / stolen mail account for 8% of ID theft cases.  Another threat exists whether you actually use your card or not;  large databases that contain personal information,  usually resold to people who want to know more about you, or who want to solicit you.   You and your card number, and likely other such personal data as your Social Security  number, are already in these databases regardless of when, where or even IF you use your card.  Even the USA's largest banks have been hacked.  Among the largest of these "personal information brokers" , are ChoicePoint,  DoubleClick, LexisNexis and FastClick.  You can contact these companies and ask about their OPT-OUT policies and you can use the above-referenced AD-AWARE & SPYBOT software to detect & eliminate the cookies these & other companies  like them are placing on your computer, likely without your knowledge or consent.   We also recommend supporting tougher regulation of these types of companies. 


9)  Consider using only one card for your online purchases.  It should be a card with a trusted issuer whom you feel has a good protection program for ALL fraudulent purchases, including online purchases.  With only one card used online, it should be easier for you to keep a watch on and track your purchases.

10)  when possible, change your password or PIN regularly.

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             We do not offer or sell ANY information about our customers, such as your email address, telephone or other personally identifiable information, to any third party .  We have advised any company that we work with, including VeriSign, NOVA & others that the protection of our customers personal data is our top priority.    We do not receive any payment for clicking on any link on our site.   We do "spot" checks on certain credit card purchases by emailing the buyer to verify the order before processing.  We take other security precautions on questionable and on ALL international orders.  It is our policy to reserve the right to only ship to the cardholders billing address.  This helps to ensure the actual cardholder is the one placing/receiving the order.  However, we realize that sometimes our customers might purchase an item as a gift & ask for it to be delivered to another party.  In these & certain other cases, we will process such orders once our security concerns have been satisfactorily met.  We encourage you to read our POLICIES page regarding our extreme security measures and a list of countries from which we will not accept any orders.  We report all credit card abuse to law enforcement and/or the card issuer & legitimate card holder.

         For customers not wanting to use a credit card, preferring to  pay by cashier's check or money order, go to our MAIL ORDER page for more information.  We want you to feel free to purchase from us in whatever mode you feel the most comfortable.   We invite you to learn more about us.  MusicianWear.com is a division of BLACKSTAR DA, our parent company.  The BLACKSTAR name is what appears on your card statement for purchases made on our site.  We are listed with Dun & Bradstreet, the California Franchise Tax Board and with the companies listed above, VERISIGN and THAWTE.  And, you can call or email us anytime you want.

     The world of e-commerce and internet credit card transactions has grown tremendously over the last few years.   There are actually more safeguards in place for your personal information online than there is in "real world" transactions.  While safety is always under review, thankfully the technology & desire to protect consumers and their credit card/personal  information has grown a great deal also.   The  encryption technology used on our site is the finest,  not only in the USA, but in the world.  Our business depends on secure transactions and we take it very seriously.   Since we've been in business, we've never encountered any security breach or loss of any customer's personal data;  and we intend to keep it that way.

           
We want you to know our commitment to security so you can shop with a little more piece of mind whenever you visit us at  MUSICIANWEAR.COM .  

            THANKS,

            BlackStar DA , 
            Parent Company of MusicianWear.com