how to Stay safe online whilst Christmas shopping
With Christmas just around the corner, people are getting ready to do their Christmas shopping. However, more and more people are choosing to get their gifts online. Here are some ways that you can stay secure when you decide to shop online.Make sure the website is secure
You want to make sure that the website you are using to buy things from is secure. You can tell if it’s secure or not by looking at the URL of the site. If it begins with “https”, it means the site is secured using an SSL certificate. You can also tell if it’s secure by looking for a padlock next to the URL. The padlock means the site is secure and all your information such as passwords or credit card details is private when using the site.
Do not buy using a public Wi-Fi connection
Wherever you are, do not do your online shopping whilst using a public Wi-Fi connection. This can include Wi-Fi from a coffee shop/restaurant, hotels or shopping centres etc. Make sure the connection your are using is secure because it can be really easy for fraudsters to steal your information from a public connection.
Try using PayPal
PayPal is said to be a very safe and secure payment method when purchasing items online. This is because when you use PayPal, any sites that you are buying from will not receive your credit/debit card information. PayPal requires an email address and password to login to. This is good for when you might be on a site that isn’t so secure which you didn’t know about. PayPal is also good because you can get the app on your phone, meaning you can even use it when online shopping with your mobile.
Use reputable sites
If you can, shop online using websites you already know about or have used before. Places like Amazon and eBay are very reputable and are very unlikely to rip you off or be scammed on. Most major retailers that you might usually shop at have an online shop, where you can still buy products from.
Don't save your information
Although it can be convenient for you to save your information with a website, it can be unsafe. If the company you are shopping with has a data breach, your information that you chose to be saved on the website could be stolen and it isn’t worth the risk of saving a couple of minutes putting your information in every time you make a transaction. We highly recommend that you don’t ask the site to save your information when purchasing something.