Are you still a sensible mom who is skeptical about online shopping risks such as phishing scams and identity theft? If so, the following secure online shopping tips will help you to shop online with confidence.
1. Shopping Risks Are Nothing New
The first thing to understand about shopping online is that shopping risks did not start with the internet. In the good old days when you were mailing checks, all someone would need to do is intercept and rip open your payment envelope and they would have your bank account and routing number. Using a credit card while shopping in person also give someone the opportunity to acquire your credit card number.
However, with more and more financial information being traded through e-commerce, it’s now getting much easier to track financial transactions because no information can move from place to place without leaving a “virtual paper trail.” So contrary to the common belief, online shopping can actually be more secure than shopping in person.
2. When in Doubt, Just Get Out
A good rule of thumb when shopping online is that if you have any doubts about the security of a website, just leave and take your business somewhere else. Credible websites will always have their privacy policies and contact information somewhere that you can see them. Many online merchants also use services like PayPal, which have built in settings to protect the buyer in case they need to dispute a charge.
Finally, don’t ever give out your credit card information online unless you know exactly why you’re doing it. This means you purchase things while you’re shopping and ignore emails which request you to give your information to “confirm” something which you
didn’t purchase. If you use your common sense, you’ll soon grow to love and trust online shopping – and reap the benefits of the latest online shopping technology.
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