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How you can stay safe shopping online

26th June 2015 Print
Shopping online

In a world where most people are short of spare time, online shopping is convenient. You have most stores at your fingertips, meaning that you can make your purchases from the comfort of your own home, and have everything delivered to your door. However, not all sites are as trustworthy as the next. You have to be careful online to protect yourself from identity theft

Trust your gut

Otherwise known as ‘internet street smarts’, trusting your gut feeling is often a quick way to ascertain if you are on a safe site. This may not work at all for you if you haven’t had much experience of using the internet, but for people who grew up with it, it’s often quite easy to work out which sites are on the dodgy side. 

Go through secure third parties

Payment protection sites are a great filter for your money. Third parties, such as paysafecard, are a fantastic way to ensure that your transaction comes with an extra layer of safety, and that criminal sites can’t get their hands on your bank details.  

Try not to use mobile devices

Mobile devices are susceptible to attacks. Although you can do most of the same things on your phone now that you can do on your computer, it probably isn’t as well protected by anti-virus software. Also, the fact that the URLs are shortened on mobile devices can also mean that you may not notice that you have entered an unsecure site. None of the same red flags appear on a mobile.

Don’t use public Wi-Fi

Public Wi-Fi is a hotspot of danger. If you undertake any transactions through this, your personal details are vulnerable. Every time you input your bank details on public Wi-Fi, you could be setting yourself up for identity theft. With the right software, anyone can hack the system and extract the information that they are looking for. Public Wi-Fi is pretty risky in general, as it doesn’t have the same protections as your home internet.  

Check your bank statements

Regularly check your bank statements for any suspicious outgoings. Even if it’s a small amount of money, if there are any payments that you don’t recognise, get in touch with your bank to discuss the matter further. It could be that someone is fraudulently withdrawing money from your account. Comb through your statements carefully. 

Look for secure signs

In the URL bar, look for a padlock sign, to know if the site is secure or not. Alternatively, see if the URL starts with “https” – the “s” stands for “secure”. If you can’t see these things, don’t proceed with your transaction. Your payment won’t be secure. 

Know your brands

Stick with brands you know you can trust. Almost all mainstream, high street companies will have exceptionally secure websites where you can make safe payments. Although copycat sites exist, it’s unlikely that you’ll stumble upon them, if you just do a normal Google search. The safe website will rank at the top of Google.

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Shopping online