How to Be As Safe As Possible Shopping Online

With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the gift-giving holidays upon us, let's take a look at how we can be as secure as possible while shopping on the Internet.

Try to Shop on Sites You Trust

Does anyone enjoy creating new accounts across the Internet? If you can locate a product on an online store you already trust and already use, you could argue it's worth paying a little more for that peace of mind. For example: Amazon doesn't always have the lowest prices, but they’ve had a good track record for delivering the order on time.

Look for the Lock

When you are doing any type of shopping online, you need to check to see if your connection to the website is secure. Most modern browsers will show a padlock in front of the page address if you are browsing securely. 

This lock means you are surfing a site that is using an SSL certificate, which essentially means your connection to the website is encrypted. It doesn’t mean that the whole website is 100 percent safe, but at least the initial connection is secure.

Utilize PayPal, Apple, or Amazon Pay if Possible

Sometimes, when making purchases online, the website will give you the ability to use a third-party payment system to make the transaction. For example, a site might let you choose to pay via PayPal or to type in your credit card information. The nice thing about using PayPal (or one of the other highly trusted payment systems) is that you aren’t plugging your financial information into a website you don’t trust. The transaction goes directly through PayPal and you are then redirected back to the online store. 

Be Aware of Phishing and Scams

The holiday season can be frantic, to the point where many people may let their guard down. Cybercriminals know this, and will try to game the system to steal your information. Be suspicious of emails that seem sketchy or look too good to be true. If you receive an unexpected email from an online store about your account, don’t click any links in it. Instead, log back into the store and navigate to your account area. Most ecommerce sites use email to relay information about your purchase, but they expect users to interact with them on the website itself.

The Internet can make holiday shopping much easier, but with its conveniences, you still need to be safe. Although Macro Systems can’t really help you pick out the perfect gift for your in-laws, we can help protect your business from online threats. Give us a call at 703-359-9211 to learn more!