Shopping For Mother’s Day Online Safely

Are you considering online shopping for Mother’s Day gifts? It’s crucial to be aware of the potential risks and how to navigate them safely. Cybercriminals often increase their activities during festive seasons, exploiting unsuspecting shoppers with scams ranging from counterfeit deals to bogus giveaways. The goal? To pilfer your money and personal information. As technology evolves rapidly, so do the tactics of these cybercriminals, making previous safety measures insufficient. In this post, we’ll guide you on secure payment methods for online shopping, common scams to watch out for, and best practices for safe online shopping.

Secure Online Shopping: Payment Methods

Is it safe to use your debit card for online purchases? The answer is no. Debit cards are directly connected to your bank account, making it challenging to recover your money in case of a fraudulent transaction. To avoid the hassle of lengthy customer service calls, potential financial loss, and possible legal costs, opt for a credit card or a third-party payment system.

Credit cards come with comprehensive fraud monitoring systems that can detect irregularities as they happen. These systems employ statistical analysis and machine learning to monitor and analyze your transactions, promptly identifying any suspicious activity. This allows you to dispute fraudulent charges and prevent loss.

Some credit card providers, such as Capital One, offer an additional layer of security with virtual credit cards. These cards generate a random 16-digit number, a three-digit CVV, and an expiration date for online or in-store purchases. While these are linked to your actual accounts, retailers cannot access your real card details, ensuring your information remains secure. An added advantage is that these can be deactivated at any time, making it easy to cancel unwanted subscriptions without interacting with the merchant.

Third-party payment platforms like PayPal are also a good choice as they do not share your personal information with the seller. The retailer does not receive your financial or banking details, keeping your data secure.

Best Practices for Online Shopping

While using a credit card, virtual card, or third-party payment tool is a good start, there are additional steps you should take to ensure online safety:

1. Shop from legitimate websites: Cybercriminals often create fake websites that mimic well-known brands. Always navigate to the authentic website and search for the product you want.
2. Be wary of unbelievable offers: If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is! Verify the offer on the official website.
3. Avoid clicking on promotional links in emails: Fraudsters often send spoofed emails resembling those from your favorite brands. Clicking on these links could infect your device.
4. Use a VPN: A VPN conceals your location and browsing information from potential eavesdroppers.
5. Don’t save your information: While password tools aim to simplify your online experience by storing your payment information, they can increase the risk of data theft.
6. Use unique logins for loyalty accounts: Using the same email and password for all your loyalty accounts can lead to a security breach if one account is compromised.
7. Enable alerts: Set up notifications in your banking system to be alerted of any purchases or transactions above a certain amount, enabling you to report suspicious activity promptly.

Cybercriminals employ various strategies to steal your information and money. Proactive protection of your financial information is crucial, not just for personal shopping but also for your business. If cybercriminals are willing to go to great lengths to steal small amounts, imagine the lengths they would go to access your company accounts, potentially worth millions.

If you’re uncertain about your company’s security or want a second opinion, we offer a FREE 30-minute consult to review your security processes and software.

We can help to assess your current security posture vs. how secure you want your environment to be.

To book your FREE 30-minute call, click the following scedule button or call our office at 403-775-1761 Option 2.