3 Tips for Safer Online Shopping
The holiday season is a prime time for hackers, scammers, and online thieves. While millions of Americans will be online looking for the best gifts and deals, hackers will be looking to take advantage of unsuspecting shoppers by searching for weaknesses in their devices or internet connections or attempting to extract personal and financial information through fake websites or charities. Use these tips to keep your information and devices safe.
- Check your devices – Make sure the device you’re using to shop online is up-to-date, your accounts have strong passwords and that multifactor authentication is enabled where available.
- Only shop trusted sources – Be careful how you search online to find deals. Do not click on random email links or ads on web pages. Instead, type in the safe URLs of retailers you know are legitimate. If it looks suspicious, something’s probably not right.
- Use safe purchasing methods – If you’re going to make that purchase, what information are you handing over? Before providing personal or financial information, check the website’s privacy policy. Make sure you understand how your information will be stored and used.