11 Tips to Secure Online Shopping
Here are 11 tips to have a safe online shopping experience during the holiday season:
- Avoid spoofed websites. Common sense says any time you receive an offer via an e-mail automatically be suspicious. The same goes with offers via tweets and messages received in any social media site.
- Don’t click the links in e-mails. Especially if it’s a too good to be true offer.
- Beware of cybersquatting and typosquatting which may look like the domain of the legitimate eTailer.
- Look for https:// in the address bar signifying it’s a secure page. Generally, scammers won’t take the time to set up secure sites. Note the closed padlock in your browser to back up the HttpS.
- Beware of e-mails coming for eBay scammers. If you are seeking deals on eBay, go right to the site and don’t bother responding to e-mails. Search deals on an e-mail directly on eBay.
- Look at the eBayers history. eBay is set up on the honor system. If the eBayer is an established seller with great feedback, they should be legit.
- Pay close attention to your statements. Check them every two weeks online and refute unauthorized charges within 2 billing cycles.
- Don’t use a debit-card online. If your debit card is compromised, that’s money out of your bank account. Credit cards have more protection and less liability.
- Avoid paying by check online/mail-order. Once the money is taken from your account and you don’t receive the goods, you are going to have a difficult, if not impossible, task of getting it back.
- Do business with those you know, like and trust. It’s best to buy high ticket items from eTailers that also have brick and mortar locations.
- Secure your PC. Update your critical security patches and anti-virus and only shop from a secured internet connection.
Robert Siciliano personal security expert to Home Security Source discussing
credit and debit card fraud on CNBC.
