5 Crucial Tips You Must Remember for Your Next Online Shopping Spree

The dawn of the internet brought with it countless benefits to humanity.

From allowing people to instantly communicate with each other from around the world, through to disseminating knowledge and information that was once out of reach for thousands of people, there’s pretty much nothing the internet can’t do.

Another more modern way that the internet is benefiting society is by allowing us to do a large amount of our shopping online.

There was a time when people actually had to leave their homes, make their way to a store, and browse the aisles in order to find the products they were looking for.

However, today, people are able to shop for practically anything, from products to services, with the click of a button from the comforts of their very own homes.

Online shopping has become extremely beneficial, especially for those with mobility issues or those who live in remote regions. However, online shopping comes with its fair share of risks as well.

In fact, back in 2017, the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center reported an estimated 300,000 complaints related to online theft. This translated to approximately $1.4 billion dollars in consumer loses that year.

Needless to say, it’s crucial to take a few precautions before clicking that “Buy” button. So, in the following article, we’ll go over 5 helpful tips to keep you safe when shopping online.

Always Use a VPN Service

Although the best way to stay safe when shopping is to avoid making any purchases online, e-commerce stores such as Amazon have made it practically impossible to avoid it when looking for certain items. Therefore, if you must shop online, the best way to protect yourself is to use a VPN.

A VPN, short for Virtual Private Network, protects you and your payment information by encrypting the connection between your device and the internet.

A VPN can be thought of as a secure tunnel that any information being sent or received by your device must pass through while browsing the internet.

Furthermore, using a VPN also disguises your IP address so that hackers and criminals won’t be able to see your data, keeping your identity and your data safe at all times.

For the best results, just make sure that you’re using one of the more reliable VPNs on the market.

Shop on Websites You Know and Trust

The reason that shopping at a real, physical store is so much safer than shopping online is because you actually get to see the business and know that their inventory exists.

However, on the internet, some stores may be created by criminals that are only looking to try and steal your money or your payment information. Therefore, it’s vital that you only shop online from stores and retailers that you know and trust.

Use Strong Passwords and Login Credentials

Needless to say, when a criminal gets their hands on your passwords, they can easily log into your account, change your shipping address and get away with purchasing products while you get stuck paying the bill.

So, always make sure to create strong passwords that can’t easily be guessed. Below, you’ll find a few quick tips for creating strong passwords.

●      Use a combination of at least 10 lower and uppercase letters, numbers and symbols.

●      Never use personal information that can easily be found or guessed. This includes birthdates, addresses, phone numbers, or a family members name.

●      Never use the same password for more than one account.

Avoid Using Public Wi-Fi Connections

With how easy it is to shop online, it can be tempting to shop online while sitting at your favorite coffee shop or restaurant.

But before you do, keep in mind that public Wi-Fi connections are not very secure. And, with a small amount of technical knowledge, hackers and criminals can use public Wi-Fi sources to intercept and access your data.

The bottom line is that it’s never a good idea to use a public Wi-Fi connection for your online shopping.

Always Pay Using a Credit Card

No matter what sort of products or services you’re shopping for online, you’ll get the best liability protection by making your purchases using a credit card. This is because most major credit card companies, such as Visa or MasterCard, offer a $0 liability protection for purchases that are made fraudulently.

In other words, if a criminal were to rack up a bunch of unauthorized charges to your card, you won’t have to pay for it while the company investigates, and they’ll likely quickly reverse the charges for you.

Just keep in mind that if someone uses your credit card information and you don’t report the theft immediately, you may not be eligible for reimbursement after 60 days.

One other option is to use a virtual credit card. Some banks are starting to offer this service, which acts exactly like an online version of your physical card.