Shopping safely online can be challenging, if you’re shopping for large items before the holidays or just completing a small weekly shop, the risks are the same. To give you peace of mind while you shop follow these 9 tips:
1) Search For Reviews
Unless your online shop has literally just opened there will be reviews online. Irate customers love to complain, more so than happy customers love to praise but searching for the company name + review, will get you some idea of how the shop treats its customers.
2) Credit Cards – Spend Their Money, Not Yours
All purchases made with a credit card are protected by law, this is because you’re not spending your money when you buy with a credit card, you’re spending VISA’s or Mastercards’s money. This means that your liability will be greatly reduced if anything does go wrong. If you don’t have a credit card but do have a debit card consider buying a virtual credit card or gift card for the added protection.
3) Check For Encryption
If you’re filling out a form with your details, always check the website is running an encrypted connection. You can tell if your connection is encrypted by viewing the url. https://shop.com = Encrypted. While http://shop.com is not.
4) Watch Out For Phishing Attempts
If you ever get emailed a hot offer from a site you regularly buy from check you’re visiting the real site. A common attack by scammers is to clone an existing site and then pass it off as their own.
5) Shared Computer Concerns
If your computer is shared in work, at university or even at home make sure you log out after you’re done. The last thing you want is someone else using your info to shop for themselves!
6) Birthdays Not Required
Unless you’re buying a restricted item online shops have no reason to know your birth date, so always fill in a false date. This will hinder attempts to socially engineer thefts from you later.
7) Real Addresses Matter
Check out the whois data on the site, you can view it here: http://whois.com/whois/amazon.com for amazon. Match this with the address listed on the website, use of PO boxes or false data should be a red flag to you.
8) Returns And Shipping Policy
Not all online shops accept returns, so make sure you know the terms if they do or not. Shipping charges also vary wildly so take this into account when ordering.
9) Privacy Policies
Last but not least, all websites are required to have a privacy policy so you know exactly what they are doing with your data. A lack of privacy policy or one that is worded vaguely should be avoided.