The holiday season is upon us once again. From everyone at TwelveSec I want to extent our best wishes.
Along with the season greetings, this time of year also brings holiday shopping. Year after year people abandon the traditional shopping routines and turn online for their holiday needs. So, along with our holiday wishes, we decided to provide 12 cyber security tips to make your online Holiday shopping safer.
- Trust Only Secured Websites
Always make certain that the e-shop you are about to buy is a secure site. Always do that before providing sensitive personal information online.
You can identify a secure site by the closed padlock on the left-hand side of the status bar. Also, the site’s URL should always start with HTTPS.
- Be Wary Of Suspicious Links
If you receive a message or an email from an unknown source do not click on it.
Not opening said links it is the best way to ensure your safety.
- Strong Passwords Are Important
We know that this tip seems obvious, but unfortunately a lot of people continue to disregard it.
For starters do not use the same password for multiple sites.
Avoid at all costs using passwords like, 1234567, you name, your date of birth, and “password”.
Always use passwords that are hard to crack. Always include a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters.
- Check Twice Before Buying From A New E-shop
We are not saying to avoid all newly established websites. In this case we advise to be careful.
New websites might be more aggressive than well established ones, so they will provide attractive prices to attract new customers. Although if you happen to see something that it is too good to be true, it probably isn’t. Do your due diligence and check online to find information for this “unknown” vendor before taking the plunge.
5.If It Is An Option Do Not Provide Your Personal Info
If you do not intend to become a return customer avoid filling unnecessary information.
Most e-shops give you the option to check out as a one-time customer, or visitor.
- Keep Documentation From Your Online Purchases
When you are buying something online usually an email is sent to you confirming the order.
You should keep those emails just in case.
7.Malicious Gift Cards
It has become customary to send gift cards to your loved ones as gifts for the holidays.
To keep yourself and your loved ones safe, always buy your gift cards from the official retailer and avoid as much as possible third parties. There is a slight possibility that a cybercriminal will be behind those third-party retailers.
- Fake Charities
During the holiday season people tend to give more to charities than any other time of the year. So, one of the biggest scums during this period is setting up fake charities. While some fake charities are only interested to scum you out of your money, others might be more malicious and also steal you card info.
Before you donate to a charity this holiday season unless you know about the charity beforehand, spend some time online and do some research to ensure that your donation is not going to the hands of a cybercriminal.
- Log off
After making a purchase remember to log off from the website.
It is not a big threat to your security, but sometimes is better to be safe than sorry.
- Do Your Holiday Shopping From A Secure Environment
Always use your own device when buying things online. Also, it is advisable to also use a network that you can trust. It is preferable to avoid public Wi-Fi networks in public places where your sensitive information can be easily highjacked by cybercriminals.
- Avoid Using Your Debit Card
Instead of using your Debit Card for your online purchases use a Credit Card or a Pre-paid Card.
Just in case a cybercriminal acquires your information online this simple tip can reduce the damage.
Credit Cards have spending limits while most Debit Cards don’t.
A Pre-paid Card is of course the most secure option in this scenario, since what’s at risk is only a set amount of money.
- Check Your Bank Statements
Now days there are myriads of ways to check you bank statements literally at any time.
Take advantage of this and if you spot any unusual charges either to your bank account or to your credit cards report it ASAP.
We hope that these simple tips would help you make you Holiday shopping more secure.
Again, from all of us here at TwelveSec our best wishes for the Holiday season.