Online shopping is incredibly convenient, and it’s no wonder that it has become so popular in recent times. However, it’s become clear that all internet activities carry some small risks, and many people are investigating how to buy safely online without any worries. Thankfully, there are some things people can do to shop safely, and buying online safely doesn’t need to be complicated. In this article, we’re going to share some tips for safe online shopping that can be followed by anybody.
The first safe way to buy online is to stick to the websites that you are familiar with. Now and then, we all come across incredible bargains on websites that we’ve never heard of before. As tempting as they may seem, the safest way to buy online is to avoid these websites. There is a risk that the security protocols on these sites may not be up to scratch, or that they may even attempt to sell you a product under fraudulent pretenses. Therefore, the first step in online shopping safety is to stick to what you know and trust.
The second step of shopping online safely is to look for the lock icon beside a website’s URL in your browser search bar. The presence of this lock is essential, as it shows that the website is secured by SSL encryption technology. This is the industry standard and shows that it is safe to enter your personal details on this website. Anybody looking to make a safe purchase online should stick exclusively to these types of websites.
The third step towards safe online shopping is to avoid sharing unnecessary details. There are no circumstances where a website would require any form of Government ID number to make a purchase. In addition, there is no reason why you should be obliged to provide your real Date of Birth to an online retailer. The safest way to purchase online is to share as few unnecessary details as possible.
We would also advise those who are concerned with safe shopping online to regularly check their bank statements and electronic transaction histories. Even if you think that you know all the transactions that you have made, it’s crucial that you ensure that all transactions on your account are legitimate. It’s important to do this frequently, as time is generally of the essence when it comes to disputing and resolving fraudulent online transactions. Even if you only stick to secure shopping online and use our best practices, fraudsters can still act.
Another step for how to buy online safely is to secure all accounts with strong passwords. Even though creating long and complicated passwords can be frustrating at times, it’s something that everybody should be doing. It’s a crucial component of safety in online shopping because a long password with special characters is almost impossible to be hacked. Strong passwords should be used for all accounts, including online casino accounts. It’s one of the many things that trusted online casino nz review services advise account holders to do.
Another piece of advice we would give to those looking for the safest way to buy online is to install antivirus onto your laptop. More often than not, the way that hackers gain access to your valuable personal information is by installing ransomware on your personal device. This virus usually operates in the background, with the laptop still functioning as normal. If you don’t make a point of looking for it, then you will likely never find out, and all the valuable information may have been siphoned off at that point. This is where your antivirus package comes in, as it will perform regular system checks to look for any unusual activity.
Something we would strongly advise to those pursuing the safest way to shop online is to always do your online shopping using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This piece of advice is doubly important if you are shopping over a public Wi-Fi network. In layman’s terms, the use of a VPN allows individuals to become anonymous online, hiding the computer’s unique IP address and preventing the user from being specifically targeted online. What we would say to those concerned about how to shop online safely is that privacy is paramount.
Another recommendation we would make as part of our safety online shopping recommendation guide is that shoppers should make their purchases on the retailer’s mobile app where possible. In most cases, these applications are as resilient, if not more, than the company’s retail website. Individuals can quickly locate what they’re looking for and can immediately make the purchase within the app itself.
Something we would also strongly advise to those looking to minimize the risks associated with eCommerce is that technology is your friend. One of the best examples of this is the advent of payment protocols like Apple Pay and Google Pay. In case you are unaware, these are the services that allow you to store your card details within your smartphone, eliminating the need to hand the cashier your physical card at checkout. When using these services online, they generate one-time passcodes that are required to complete the purchase. Even if a scammer manages to get a hold of your card details, they will be unable to make a purchase.
We also have something we’d like to say about gift cards. When it comes to these cards that are frequently bought as gifts, our advice would be to always keep them. If you browse online, you will find numerous exchanges that seemingly allow you to exchange your gift card for one from another store of equal value. However, more often than not these exchanges are a cover for fraudulent activity, with many of the gift cards having no funds on them. If you don’t like your gift card, the best thing you could do is to give it to somebody else because you want to avoid giving somebody the satisfaction of scamming you out of your money.
Those are our recommendations for staying safe while shopping online in 2022. Anybody who follows all of these steps is highly unlikely to fall victim to any form of scam.
