Is it okay to put my credit card number, expiration date, and other information in an email? I'd like to purchase a product online, and they want me to put my credit card info on their website; is it really any different to put it in an email?

Actually, this question is the one that finally convinced me it was time to create my Q&A website. I was absolutely horrified yesterday to receive an email from a potential customer who wanted to buy one of my products, and had put his credit card number, expiration date and name in his email to me! Never, never, never do this! Don't even think about it! People tend to think that email is a private correspondence between them and their intended recipient. That would be a nice theory, but it is not guaranteed!

Remember that emails do not send or receive over secure sockets, which means if someone was looking and analyzing in the right place at the right moment, they could intercept your data packets and snag your credit card number. Where your credit card number is concerned, it is better to be paranoid than sorry.