How do credit card payments work?

I can’t answer to credit card fraud, but the vendor gets his money from the credit card company, and they get their money from you. The vendor does not get the entire amount that you pay, because the credit card company charges them all kinds of fees for the privilege of using their business. That is why many businesses like debit cards and cash better.

Do some research on how to prevent credit card fraud, to protect yourself.

As long as you are using a major credit card (Visa, Mastercard etc.) you are protected by the card company and are not liable for fraudulent purchases. So if the vendor were to steal your credit card information you would be protected. If they charged more than you agreed to, or somehow didn’t fulfill the purchase you could dispute the charge with the vendor. If they then refuse to refund your money you could dispute the charge with your card issuer.

Credit cards are also monitored for suspicious activity, so if someone did try to steal your card info and make purchases the charges would hopefully be blocked. If you’re worried about it just make sure to pay close attention to your statements.

If you are particular or doubtful about giving information about your credit card to sellers such as Amazon, better open an account with PayPal and pay your purchases online through your PayPal account. Go to the site of PayPal and follow instructions on how to tie up your credit card with PayPal. Before I also use my credit card to pay purchases made online, but due to numerous frauds, I prefer to use PayPal. I don’t have to give information about my credit card anymore, just the PayPal account I.D.