4 Tips how to shop online safely this Holiday

Thanksgiving and Christmas are almost here, and that means great deals and discounts all over for online shoppers.

Every year millions of shoppers wait with wallets in hand to score deals on things. This year the retail e-commerce forecasts holiday spending to top $135 billion, according to US Secret Secret Service Press Release.

Tips on how to shop online safely this holiday

1 – The use of Public Wi-Fi

The wireless connection makes internet access more convenient, but it also makes your information more vulnerable. Many wireless access points, Wi-Fi hotspots, are unsecured and provide minimal protection against hackers.

Recommended to NOT to conduct online shopping or online banking.

2- Payment Cards

Use credit cards instead of debit cards. Frauds easily occur with debit cards because they have no limit to the amount of loss that the consumer can suffer. That’s why credit cards have better protection for the consumer if frauds occur.

Be an educated shopper this holiday, and outsmart scammers!

So credit cards can be used as shield protection because it is not going to affect your account, it is bank money.

3- Only trust secure sites

When you search for an item and find a great deal, make sure first it is a trusted vendor before the click. Otherwise, you risk your credit card security, and you may even be vulnerable to getting a nasty computer virus or malware.

One way to ensure it is a safe website check SSL. Secure site addresses start with “https” instead of “HTTP” and often have a padlock or unbroken key icon to indicate they are protected.

4- Watch out for fake coupons

Fake coupons tend to pop up on social media and emails during major shopping holidays.

Take precautions because Coupon scams generally start with a legitimate-looking image of a coupon with the retailer’s logo in your feed and instructions to click the post to claim it. In reality, these coupons are designed for phishing scams.

Even if the post seems to send you to the retailer’s site, avoid it; instead of chasing coupons in your social media feed, go to your favorite retailer’s site directly, sign up for its email list or check out current offers for your favorite retailer’s website.

If anything looks interesting to you, use one of the many free price history tools available such as Slickdeals Price Tracker or PCPartPicker and plug into the search bar to check the integrity.

The bottom line is while you go about your shopping online during this holiday, double-check before delivering your personal information to the wrong hands.