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.

Amazon.com's Safe Shopping Guarantee

The Amazon.com Safe Shopping Guarantee protects you while you shop at Amazon.com, so that you never have to worry about credit card safety. Period.

We guarantee that every transaction you make at Amazon.com will be 100% safe. This means you pay nothing if unauthorized charges are made to your card as a result of shopping at Amazon.com.

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:

1. 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 or CDs until your check is received, and we don't ship your order 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.

2. 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.

   Phone:

   (800) 201-7575 (toll-free in the USA and Canada)

   (206) 694-2992 (outside the USA and Canada)

   Fax:

   (206) 694-2950

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. 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.

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