How To Protect Your Online Shopping?

Weekends and holidays are the best time to go online to search for bargains. As a rule, we buy things for our house, and gifts for friends, family, and relatives. We often just do not have time to go to the brick-and-mortar shop. Therefore, we go to sites in search of what we need. The Internet has made our holiday shopping so much easier. However, at the same time, we got new problems: how to ensure online shopping security? Online shopping is a good excuse for scammers to trick you and steal your money. Let’s talk about this in more detail.

Do we need cybersecurity?

Many people fall for the hook of online hackers. But this is a bad thing because we must be sufficiently educated in terms of cybersecurity. Sometimes it seems that cybersecurity is something very far from us. However, in reality, we need cybersecurity every day, even when we do something as mundane as online shopping.

What do we need for online shopping security?

Every year in the United States, online scammers steal more than one and a half billion dollars from people. Of course, this figure includes not only theft during online shopping. It is also the theft of personal data, confidential information, insurance numbers, credit card numbers and bank account data. Having obtained this information, attackers use your data for their own benefit. Yes, they can open an account in your name. This is one of the most popular types of scams. What’s even worse is that scammers are very difficult to track down. Every year they become smarter and more experienced, and their schemes more complex.

But what about the average consumer? Do we really have to give up such a convenient thing as online shopping? Simply because it is very difficult to ensure online shopping security. Our answer: not at all. There are certain steps that will help you secure yourself and your purchases.

How to protect your online shopping?

So, here is a list of a few useful tips that you should keep in mind while shopping online:

Go directly to the websites of retailers

Sometimes the promotion notifications you receive in the mail look very attractive. However, it is better to restrain your desire to follow the first link that comes across. It is true that big sellers send a lot of emails to encourage buyers to make more purchases. But hackers can also take advantage of this. So avoid phishing. It is better to shop directly from the seller’s website. You can also check all sales news there.

Check website security

Each store has its own security system. What do you need to pay attention to? Before making a purchase, check the information on the site and answer these questions:

1️⃣ Does the seller use encryption?
2️⃣ Is the connection secure on the page where the transaction takes place?

Browsers usually show secure connections. They offer a blocking character in the URL. By the way, you should also pay attention to the URL: it should start with “https” and not with “http”. If you have any doubts about safety, it is better not to shop on this site.

Get a special card for online purchases

Try to get a separate credit card to buy things online. This will help secure your savings, paycheck, mortgage savings, etc. Because it’s a good idea to separate your bills to secure your budget. Of course, even this does not guarantee that your money is completely safe. However, it is better to take all possible precautions.

Do not provide sites with unnecessary data

If you still decide to buy on an unknown or unverified site, then try not to provide additional information about yourself. Provide only the bare minimum. So, for example, a store clearly does not need your insurance number in order to sell you a product.

Last tip: just be careful. There are many online offers that look very attractive. And very often it’s just a trick, a deception. If the offer is suspicious, do not shop at this place. The Internet is really a good and convenient way of shopping. However, you must always remember that your task is not only to buy what you want but also to ensure online shopping is safe.

Summary:

#onlinesecurity #onlineshopping #сybersecurity