Online shopping is so much fun. It’s like having a friend you can send to the store anytime you want. It is also easy to get addicted and throw away all inhibitions, causing you to forget that it is not always safe. You have all your bank account information and credit cards linked to these sites which makes you vulnerable. At any given time, you can easily lose all your life’s earnings. You have to make sure that every time you are online ordering for pizza or buying clothes, your information and bank accounts are all safe.
It all begins with you. Here are some of the steps you can take:
Know The Online Shop/Seller
It is a common practice in business to always to transact with reputable companies or individuals. If you are buying a product from an online store, make sure the store is reputable and you actually have enough information about their business dealings and the people behind it. There is a reason why sites like Amazon, Alibaba and eBay are very popular; nearly everybody knows and trusts them. However, they don’t have all the commodities you may need. Do your research and find other stores that are held to such high esteem.
Reviews/suggestions
The beauty of online shopping is that many people are more than eager to explain to you in detail how their shopping experience in a certain online store was. You can get millions of reviews on any store you want. You just have to know where to look. Millions of other sites also give you suggestions, and reviews of products they feel are the best in the market. A good example is Fun Attic which can help you get familiar with the best kids sports gear money can buy, amongst other things such as games, and what’s hot right now.
Credit Card Information
A bulk of online shopping mishaps arise from saving credit card information on shopping sites for easy check-outs and order placement. Fake online stores will build your trust in them and eventually wipe you off clean when you least expect it. If they don’t, malicious hackers will. Reputable online stores have installed necessary security measures on their sites, but the most effective way is to ensure your information is not saved there. Don’ let your browser or any browser automatically save your passwords and usernames any time you are shopping.
Public Wifi
Remember hackers? Those I.T geniuses who have nothing better to do than roam around the internet looking for someone to torment ‘for fun’? Most of them are found in public wifi because, well, it is pretty much easy to hack into anyone’s device. There is no security measure whatsoever. Restrict your online shopping to your own private home network or office networks which are well protected. Your home network can also be quite dangerous if you have no password or any other security feature. Find an expert who can make sure your home network is yours alone. Make sure the said expert is legit too.
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