At the onset of the current pandemic, people realized the benefits of shopping from home. With the Christmas season fast approaching, we can only expect that more people will turn to eCommerce for their holiday shopping.
According to experts, 72% of holiday shoppers say they will shop more online this season. Ahead of this busy time, Google is sharing some tips to help you stay safe as you shop online.
Protect Your Online Shopping Accounts
When accessing eCommerce platforms, most of us create multiple accounts to purchase items. Often than not, these accounts contain sensitive information like your contact details and credit card numbers.
Ensure that you choose a strong, unique password that’s at least eight characters long, and use a different password for every account so that if one account is hacked, your other accounts aren’t compromised.
Also, adding recovery information like a phone number or another email address will definitely be helpful, most especially if you should ever get logged out of your account and need to quickly regain access.
Download Secure Apps
The festive season brings brisk business for eCommerce sites that might prompt you to download their dedicated shopping app for a better shopping experience. Just be aware of any fake shopping apps that set out to steal your personal information.
Make sure that you’re downloading apps from trusted sources like the Google Play Store which scans all apps for malware before and after you install them.
Beware of phishing when surfing online
As the number of phishing cases continues to rise, spotting them can be a challenge even for savvy web users. It is important to learn how to spot suspicious emails and websites, preventing yourself from revealing critical personal information such as your password.
To avoid being a victim of phishing attacks:
- Never click on questionable links.
- Always double-check the URL (website address) to make sure the browser shows a lock symbol to ensure that you’re entering your data into a legitimate website.
- Before submitting any information, make sure that the site’s URL begins with “https” (versus “http”), meaning it’s secure.
Use web browsers which have security steps in place to keep users away from phishing sites. For example, if you visit a site with malware or attempts to phish you, you’ll be warned by Chrome and taken back to safety. Or if you type your Google account password into a suspected phishing site, Chrome will surface a warning and add protections to ensure your account isn’t compromised.
You may want to take this quiz to test your phishing-detection skills?
Offers That Sound Too Good To Be True
Online marketplaces are a great place to get the best bargains for the holidays. But do think twice about that great bargain you’ve spotted, especially if it sounds too good to be true.
To prevent yourself from falling victim to an eCommerce scam, here are some easy steps to follow:
- Always check the seller’s score and track record, and only purchase from reputable sellers.
- Use shopping platforms that release payments to the seller after you have received the goods.
- With millions of buyers online selling products, you can look to secure sites via the Google Shopping Tab to surface merchants who meet a minimum review score so you’ll know they’re safe.