Ordering from ZooPlus

[Nightingale]

So today I tried making a pretty large order (nearly £200) from zooplus, which I have used before without problems, but with an order that was less money. It all went fine until it took me to a page supposedly from my bank asking me to 'Protect Your Card From Unauthorised Use Online', by putting in info like expiry date, card security code, name on card, date of birth, and the last four digits of my 8-digit account number. Apparently it's something called 'verified by visa'.

Is this normal? Because it seems dodgy af to me. D: I mean, zooplus already has lots of this info since it's needed to make transactions but I don't just give it out to anything when prompted... It doesn't even appear to be the bank's website.

When I try to leave the page it tells me the transaction isn't completed, even though I have an email from zooplus confirming that the order has been received, and when I go to the my orders page on my account, the orders are listed there. 

Sorry if I sound like an idiot, but ordering anything online makes me nervous and this just seems weird and scary and now I'm worrying zooplus is not reputable like I thought. I've left the page despite the warning, but if this isn't legit then I would very much like to know regardless of the fact that I didn't give it my details.

Thanks to anyone who can help!

[qtoffer]

You were wise to be cautious because there is so much spyware out there, and even some large merchants (like Target) have had their websites hacked. The nice thing about using credit cards online is that you can dispute charges that you believe were fraudulently made. There are also some cards that generate a one-time-use, random account number for each online transaction.

I've heard of Verified by VISA, but haven't been able to find out exactly how it benefits the consumer in return for throwing up a lot of personal information on the internet. It would certainly benefit the merchant by reducing his risk of losing merchandise and payment to a potentially fraudulent transaction. I don't believe that VISA permits merchants to insist on Verified by VISA for online purchases. I can see why merchants would direct customers to the Verified by VISA page, but there's got to be a 'No thanks, continue to checkout' someplace.

I would call your bank's number listed on the credit card and ask them if this was a legit Verified by VISA page or a phishing hack on Zooplus' website.

[Nightingale]

Thank you for your advice and reassurance!

Today I got an email from zooplus telling me that my order is on hold because I did not complete verification, and that if I don't do so within seven days, it will be cancelled altogether. So it isn't optional. D: I intend to call my bank tomorrow to double check its legitimacy and will say how that goes. Hopefully ZooPlus hasn't been hacked though, because I really need that order!

[t0m]

Hi there. I've used Zooplus a few times before and have never had a problem with them, so I'm pretty sure they're a legit site. Verified by VISA is also a legitimate card protection scheme, which some sites appear to use and others don't. Usually it just asks for your password though, and you can often still place an order even if you cancel the verification stage. Your bank should be able to confirm this, and you might be able to place the order by phone if you ring Zooplus.