Shopping online seems to be a good way of comparing rates, locate shops and save time with wireless data or internet connection from everywhere. As its success has grown, risks of online shopping are also growing and criminals scamming you from your cash and they steal all of your personal data.
You can simply enjoy shopping online by following some simple and amazing rules.
Use Familiar Websites
Begin at a trustworthy site Results of the quest can be manipulated to confuse you, particularly if you drift beyond first few reference sites. When you identify the page, it is unlikely that it will be a rip-off. Many companies are created on the internet by individuals who want information about your credit card and other private information. To do online shopping comfortably, consider just engaging online with only those retailers you know or shopping with.
Always Use Secure Connection
If your device is not secured from malicious software, there is a possibility that your passwords and personal information will be compromised. That idea is so important, but only a minority of the population is properly shielding their devices. Always use a secure connection and keep checking the firewall of your device working properly.
Be Discreet
It is reasonable that online stores or vendors may request for some personal details for your payment, however this data should be restricted to the name, contact number, age, identity or the credit card number. You should never provide any personal information that is irrelevant for the payment, as this give them an opportunity to steal your identification.
Check account statement
You Should not wait till the end of a month to receive your bill. Always keep going online frequently during most of the holiday season and verify your debit card, credit card card and all current accounts with digital statements. Watch for every unauthorized charges, including from services such as Venmo and PayPal.
Whenever you see anything unusual, make a phone call to immediately deal with that issue. In the situation of credit cards, only pay for that full amount if you trust the validity of all all the charges. Nevertheless, you get 30 days to make complaints to the bank or card issuer; after which, you may be responsible for the charges.
Public Wi-Fi
It’s quite much easy to hack the public Wi-Fi so you should always take some cautions while using it through your cell phone or laptop. Always consider them suspicious and never assume that all these public Wi-Fi services are legal. Search for authentic Wi-Fi router by looking carefully at the title of that Wi-Fi network.
You can use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) while using any public Wi-Fi as this will protect all your information passing through network. RitaVPN is one of the best VPN service which encrypts all of your personal data and provides you online security against hackers and data packet sniffers. However, you should stop signing into those sites which collect your personal details including the bank details and store your credit card details.
Scan for Malware
Online downloaded Malware applications and programs may track your keystrokes and collect data of your account including from the secure sites. Download some programs for scanning such kind of Malware. You shouldn’t upload your details from those website which you don’t know. Be cautious to click on the viral email links.
Always keep upgrading your system because the new updates provide you more security against these Malware.
Use a Strong Password
If someone knows you password details, they can easily access all of your account details and personal information. They also can add a new shipping address or order something from your account. So, keep your account safe by locking it with a secure and strong password.
You can create a strong password by putting some symbols, numbers and letters in a complex way and don’t use a same password for every website
Use Mobile Apps for Online Shopping
There is no particular need to be hesitant while purchasing online through a mobile phone. Just use those Applications that stores have directly, such as Target and Amazon. Use these apps to locate whatever you want and immediately purchase stuff without going to the supermarket or website. Whenever you click on some link for purchasing online, there is always a risk. Hackers may send some virus through that link or they may steal some personal data. So, using specific mobile apps for shopping is much safer than going online through some site.
Seller’s Privacy Policy.
Although we may not know about everything but some sellers sell our private information and purchasing preference to telemarketers, marketing research firms and spammers. Always read the privacy policy very carefully because they may ask about sharing your information with 3rd parties. Never allow them to use or sale your personal information to anyone in any case.
Seller’s Customer Satisfaction Rating
Always read the user’s reviews about the merchant because they can provide you an exact idea about that seller and his products. Review all the remarks from other customers and verify the rating of the retailer on sites such as Google Shopping and eBay. Poor ratings of that seller could make you to try a much more trustworthy seller.
Always Use a Credit Card
You should always use credit cards for online shopping because the federal laws always protects the users from any online fraud. You can also use a separate account for just online shopping as you will get confused about online transactions.
So always use credit card for online shopping rather than debit card.
Always Log out of Sites
Simply shutting the browser won’t hide your information, and one who comes after you could still see those private details when they reopen the web browser again, especially in a public area. Once you have entered your information and are using a password, start using strong passwords and make it hard to predict the password by letters and numbers.
