Shopping online has become increasingly popular in recent years especially during the pandemic. Although, it’s easy to compare prices and buy items quickly and easily. But there are also risks involved. Here are some tips for safe shopping online.
Tips When Shopping Online:
i) Always look for the lock first

It’s fundamental to limit your shopping only to encrypted websites. Before entering any persona or credit card info onto a shopping site, always make sure that the site has SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption installed. It is a technology that encrypt data using transmission and you’ll observe the URL for the site will start with HTTPS – instead of just HTTP. Another way you can check is that you will usually see an icon of a locked padlock will appear, typically to the left of the URL in the address bar or the status bar down below (vary on different browser).
ii) More is not always the merrier in online shopping

You will usually expect to provide info such as payment details, shipping address, telephone number, and email address. However, if the merchant requests for other personal info such as bank account information, social security information or even license number etc. Please walk away! The extra information is more than necessary to make the sale. Hence, you shall always be cautious about providing the information because your personal info will be likely to reselled, rented or shared by the merchant. Kindly stick to the companies or e-store that respect your privacy.
iii) Be skeptical and make sure you’re visiting a legitimate online store

Deals that seem too good to be true should be avoided. They probably are. However, if you have suspicious, contact the merchant directly. Meanwhile, its ideal for you to take a few minutes to research the site online by using a search engine to search for the name of the website along with the word “scam”, and you shall be cautious on the website URL because you might that you are browsing a legit website, but a scammer might fool you around with the incorrect characters. (see example below)
iv) Don’t click on untrusted pop-up ads

While it’s common practice for online retailers to use pop-up ads for e-newsletters, promotions and flyers. However, you shall always keep an eye out for phishing scams because scammers will try to lure or confuse online shoppers with suspicious pop-up ads . Therefore, its ideal to have an ad-blocker installed when shopping on unfamiliar websites to avoid getting phished.
- https://www.readersdigest.ca/home-garden/money/8-tips-safe-online-shopping/
- https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/online-shopping/
- https://websitebuilders.com/how-to/smart-shopping-at-a-glance/safe-shopping-tips/
- https://www.webroot.com/us/en/resources/tips-articles/10-tips-to-safer-shopping-online
- https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/14-tips-for-safe-online-shopping
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