How to Stay Safe While Shopping Online
Shopping online can be super convenient and fun. You can find just about everything you need, and you can have it all delivered right to your door, so you don’t even need to leave the house. Plus, you can often snag some incredible deals that could help you save money too.
Although online shopping does come with a range of perks, making it one of the most popular ways of buying everything from clothes and accessories to electronics and gifts, there are some risks. So, continue reading to learn a bit about how to stay safe when you are shopping on the internet.
Make Sure a Site Is Secure
First off, it is best to only shop from websites that can prove SSL encryption is being used. You can determine if a site has this by looking for a padlock icon near the website address in your browser or by checking the URL to see if it displays “https”. This is such a simple step, but many people are not aware of it, so be sure to look for this if you haven’t been doing so already.
Research a Seller Before You Buy from Them
In addition to shopping from well-known and established brands, such as those that you would find at the mall, you can also use the internet to find independent sellers. Talented people might make their own creations, such as toys, décor, or clothes, and then put them up for sale online. They might use a website like Etsy or they might have their own website on which they offer their items. Either way, you might not get the same level of security as you would with larger corporations, so it’s wise to take steps to keep yourself safe.
First, make sure that the site you are shopping from is secure and has taken steps to keep your data private. You can then use Nuwber to do a bit of research into the seller if you want to know more about them and figure out if they are trustworthy and legitimate. And you might want to read reviews from other customers to see if they were happy with the experience of buying from a particular seller.
Use a Secure Network When Shopping Online
When you shop online, you have to submit quite a bit of personal information, such as your full name and address, other contact details like your phone number and email address, and, of course, your payment information.
The last thing that you’d want to do is compromise the security of your payment and contact info by using it on a network that is not safe. So, if you can, only shop online when you are on a secure and private Wi-Fi network rather than when you are on a public one. Also, if you want additional security, you might want to look into using a virtual private network (VPN).
Be Smart About Payment Methods
If you’re given the option of saving your payment information on a website at checkout, you might be tempted to do so, but it’s best to not do it. Instead, type in the credit card information each time you check out. And, when it comes to paying using a debit card or credit card, using a credit card might be the smarter and more secure option because your debit card is linked to your bank account.
With the right strategy in place, you can take advantage of all of the perks of shopping online while also reducing your risk of problems like having your personal information stolen by fraudsters and cyber criminals.
