5 Tips for Safer Online Shopping

So Cyber Monday is the day many people will take to the web to make thousands if not millions of online purchases to get some great deals. And sadly, many of those people will have their transactions and accounts compromised. While there are few fool-proof ways to completely prevent this, you can follow these tips to greatly reduce your risks of being a victim of online fraud.

Make Sure Website is Secure

Never buy anything from an unsecure website. You can check to see if a site is secure by making sure the that is starts with HTTPS:// and that there is a closed lock next to the address bar at the top.

Shop at Trusted Sites

Go directly to a website to know that you are using a trusted site. If you search for a website, sometimes search results can be setup to lead to sites that are not legitimate. Make sure you verify you are at the correct site and there are no typos in what you put in – sometimes fraudulent parties will purchase domains one letter off to fool you if you misspell something.

Be Proactive and Protect Your Computer

Protect yourself from malware by getting software that will warn you if you are traveling to an illegitimate website. Some browsers do this already, but to take extra precaution, get a security application. Here are some applications reviewed by PC Mag.

Use Two Factor Authentication

This is the most important tip to follow when dealing with your personal records, financials and online banking. Most major retailers and banking sites offer this service, so if you aren’t already using it, look into it. Here is a related article from our Cybersecurity page on the subject.

Shop Using Official Apps from Online Retailers

Using applications from online retailers such as Amazon or Walmart is a much safer route of sharing your financial information. Hackers are much more likely to hijack a browser purchase than from an app. Just make sure that the app you download is actually the app from the retailer and not a knock off.