With the revelation from the BBC that 11 people in the USA have been charged with stealing 40 million credit and debit card numbers (yes I really said 40 million!), we have to again ask ourselves the question Is shopping on the web safe?

Well the answer is of course not simple - but broadly speaking it depends on the How and the Where.

In fact these card numbers were actually stolen by good old fashioned breaking and entering - all be it of the electronic form - but still they drove to the offices of the retailers in question.

Our advice has always been to use a credit card because that gives you legal protection in case anything goes wrong - your bank has to help you in other words.

But of course by the time you call your bank it is already too late.

Best off doing what I do:

• Use sites that have been recommended to you
• Use sites that have been verified by companies like Shopsafe.co.uk or Mcafeesecure.com
• If in real doubt use PayPal to pay

Yes thats right PayPal isn't only the preserve of Ebay - register your credit or debit card with PayPal and when you purchase online they don't send your card details to the shop - they sort it all out for you.

That way your card number does not wind up on anyone else's computer - so they can't get stolen.

Crucial Tip: Never, ever, EVER respond to an email a bank or PayPal send you asking you to update your account - its someone pretending to be them and they are bad people.

So come on, the waters warm - lets get shopping