Amazon.com Protects Your Security and Privacy

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Security and Privacy

We know you're concerned about security and privacy, and we hope this will answer some of the most common questions about what we're doing to protect you.

Credit card security

Statistically, it's much safer to use your credit card on the Web than to use it in a restaurant or department store. We think that's good news, but we still take every possible precaution to protect the integrity of your credit card information.

Our secure server

We use the Netscape Secure Commerce Server, which encrypts any information you type in. You can safely enter your entire credit card number on the secure server and it cannot be read in transit.

Of course, you can use the secure server even if you want to pay by check or enter only the last five digits of your card number. Remember, if you choose the secure server, all the information you enter on the order form--name, address, phone number, etc.--is safely encrypted.

Secure ordering

There are two ways in which you can order from us without having to enter your complete credit card number on the Web:

Paying by check or money order
You can select "pay by check" on the order form, and send us a personal check or money order in U.S. dollars for the amount of your order. PLEASE NOTE that currently we are only able to accept postal money orders denominated in U.S. dollars or checks denominated in U.S. dollars and drawn on a U.S.bank. Checks must have a valid nine-digit bank routing number (ABA code) micro-encoded on the bottom of the check. Paying by check does slow down your order somewhat, as we don't order your books until your check is received, and we don't ship the books to you until your funds clear. If you are in the United States, paying by personal check typically delays your order about seven to ten days.
Calling or faxing your card number
We have a way for you to use your credit card without ever having to enter the complete number on the Internet. When filling out the order form, you can enter just the last five digits and the expiration date of your credit card on the order form. This gives us a way to track your order but guarantees your security. Then you can call or fax us to give us the rest of your credit card number. You can do this even if you can't use our secure server, and your credit card number will be completely protected.

How we store your credit card number

To give you an additional layer of security, all credit card numbers are stored on a computer that is not connected to the Internet. After you type it in, fax it in, or call it in, your complete credit card number is transferred to this secure machine across a proprietary one-way interface. This computer is not accessible by network or modem, and the numbers are not stored anywhere else.

We respect your personal privacy

We do not now sell or rent our list of customers to anyone. In fact, the Electronic Privacy Information Center cites the quality of our concern with customer privacy as one of the reasons they became an Amazon.com Associate. If you would like to make sure we never sell or rent information about you to third parties, just send an e-mail message to never@amazon.com.

Next: How do I keep track of my order?