Safe Online Shopping for the Holidays

Shop online safely to avoid unnecessary stress

It’s the holiday season again! A time for family and friends to be joyful and merry. Although this time, celebrations all over the world may be a little different as compared to the past. The essence of gift giving and sharing of blessings remain the same. One best way for purchasing gift items is online. Online shopping has become even more popular even before the pandemic. People have become more careful on going out to malls and department stores to avoid the crowd and stay safe.  Let’s share some pointers on how to have a safe shopping online experience.

During this time of the year, hackers and identity thieves are also busy getting their hands-on personal information they can use against you. To take advantage of vulnerabilities and weak spots. This is a good reminder for all of us to be vigilant and be extra careful in doing online transactions, not just shopping.

In each of our efforts in finding ways to make this holiday season meaningful and festive, let us practice vigilance and being extra careful to avoid becoming victims of online crimes.

Let us enjoy the advantages of shopping online such as:

  1. Convenience of shopping without the crowd and long waiting lines.
  2. Saves time and effort. Shop at the convenience of your home.
  3. There is a wide variety of products available and you can compare prices to get the best deal.
  4. You can get discounts and lower prices most especially for bulk orders.
  5. Online shopping is a good way to curb impulse buying.

While you enjoy the advantages of shopping online,

Here are tips to remember for a safe online shopping:

  1. Research the retailer to make sure they are legitimate. There are thousands of shopping sites, with a bit of research, you will be able to spot the fraudulent ones. Check for negative feedbacks and make sure that the seller is reliable.
  2. What is the return policy? If they do not seem to have one, you should be suspicious. This will help if the item is not delivered or arrives defective. There is also a large online market that sells counterfeit goods. These can be hard to spot so a little more research can be helpful.
  3. While shopping online, make sure the internet connection you are using is secure. Do not use public Wifi in public places, such as coffee shops, airport terminals and shopping centers. Public Wifi is often unsecure. Cyber criminals can access any information you send while connected to these networks. Remember that your ordinary mobile data is more secure than the public Wi-Fi.
  4. Keep yourself safe online. Make sure your software and anti-virus protection is up-to-date. Always choose a strong password for your online accounts, using a combination of lower case, upper case, numbers and special characters. This will help protect you and your devices from scammers and cyber criminals.
  5. Always guard your personal information. Remember that no shopping website should ever need your Social Security Number. If a site requires you to share very personal information, just run in the other direction.

Happy Holidays and enjoy your shopping…online

Gift giving and holiday shopping is just a part of the holiday experience. As always, remember to guard yourself from online scams during the busiest season of the year. For more about online and credit card safety, visit leapmanagedit.com today.

Patrycja Thomas

Author: Patrycja Thomas

Fortune 500 sales and marketing veteran dedicated to helping small businesses change the world with technology.