Protect Yourself While Online Shopping this December
Filed under: IT Support
This year’s Cyber Monday brought in massive online sales, a trend that will probably continue throughout the rest of December. If you’re like the millions of Americans who will be doing at least some of their holiday shopping on the internet, remember to make online safety a priority. Take these steps to protect your computer, your bank account, and your identity.
Safeguard your devices. Make sure any device you use for online shopping – computers, tablets, and smart phones – have up-to-date security software installed. Remember to allow the operating system and any apps to perform routine updates.
Don’t fall for junk emails. Often these “junk” emails are actually an attempt by hackers to gain access to your computer. Don’t open emails from unknown sources, and definitely never follow suspicious links. The “delete” button is your friend!
Remember the rule: If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Any solicitation that seems too tempting is most likely a scam.
Call customer service. If you get an email about a problem with your payment for an order, or any email that appears to be from your bank, never follow links or provide information via an email reply. This could be thieves fishing for information. Call the company’s customer service number instead.
Be careful with Wifi. Do your shopping over your mobile connection, or shop from your home network. When you give out payment information over the Wifi connection at your local coffee shop, your credit card data could be at risk.
Check out the website. A lock symbol on the address bar, or a web address which begins in “https” indicates a secure site.
Use a credit card. Credit cards are generally safer than debit cards. If your information is stolen, most credit card companies won’t hold you responsible for much, if any, of the damages. And if an order never arrives, you can usually request a credit through buyer protection.
Save your receipts and emails. If there’s a problem with your order, or if something suspicious shows up on your credit card statement, you have proof to back up your claims.
For more help with internet security, give us a call at Davik Consulting, Inc : 1-888-RING-MY-TECH. We can show you how to protect your computer, your business, and your financial information.
