4 Safety Tips for Online Holiday Shopping
With Christmas festivities just around the corner, you must be planning to get done with Christmas shopping at the earliest. UK citizens are expected to spend £300 per person on holiday shopping.
Online shopping is on the rise since it allows people to buy goods from the comfort of their home. While online shopping saves you from the hassles of visiting shopping centres in person, they create several risks. Around one-third of online shoppers become a victim of fraudulent activities. You have to be cautious to stay safe from hackers and avoid losing your hard-earned money.
By keeping in mind the following safety tips, you can mitigate the risk of identity theft and carry out online shopping in a safe way:
1. Use VPN Services
Who won’t be tempted to connect their smartphone or laptop to free public Wi-Fi? However, when you connect to an unsecured network and access online shopping stores, there is a risk of getting robbed.
Install a VPN app on your systems and browse the internet in a safe way. It protects your data from intruders. This way, when you enter your credit card information, no hackers would be able to extract this information.
2. Stay Away from Suspicious Links
Everyone likes discount offers and you may be tempted to click links that try to lure you through big discounts. For instance, you may receive a promo code via an email that claims you can get up to 50% discount on your favourite store by clicking the attached link.
Scammers opt for phishing techniques to collect credit card information of victims and misuse this information. You can’t trust everyone on the internet; therefore, make sure that a link is valid and free from malicious content before clicking it.
3. Shop at Trusted Stores Only
When you go shopping in person, you may always go to reputable stores to ensure you get quality products at fair rates. You shouldn’t forget this rule when shopping online.
Buy products from stores where you have shopped before. You can also ask your friends and family members to suggest trusted stores on the basis of their experiences.
Furthermore, carefully check the URL of the website before you enter your personal information. If the link is secure with https protocol, you can provide your credit card information and begin your shopping spree.
4. Keep Your Device Secured
Before you visit online stores for shopping, make sure your device is secured. For this purpose, update the operating system as well as installed apps or software. Install an effective antimalware application and enable the Firewall for added security.
If your device is secured, you’re at a lesser risk of being robbed. The security application will fend off hacking attacks in real time and keep your system as well as private information safe from unauthorized users.
To be precise, online shopping is convenient, but it may lead to cyber attacks. If you don’t want to become a victim of a financial scam, you should take precautionary measures to stay safe.