Nowadays, people prefer online payments instead of shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. This increasingly popular practice is due to convenience and promotes better time management. After all, online shopping saves you time, energy, and, sometimes, money.
However, shopping on the internet is less safe than hopping from store to store in the mall. Of course, someone may rob you on the street. However, people can do much worse to you online. And, unless you use safe electronic payment systems like Infa Payments, you risk losing your personal data to hackers.
Fortunately, we have compiled the best safety tips for shopping online. Read on to discover how to protect your assets against online fraud and theft!
- Shop only with trustworthy retailers
When shopping online, your best choice is to do it only from reputable businesses. Nowadays, everyone knows at least three respectable and secure online retailers. And, it would be best if you always stuck with their impeccable reputation instead of choosing an anonymous online store.
- Always use trustworthy payment systems
When paying for stuff online is always best to use electronic payment systems, everyone trusts. This way, you are sure that your personal data remains safe from hacker attacks. If you suspect that a retailer is using a shady payment processor, ask for those details about their payment gateway. Then, follow up on your purchase only if they provide a reputable solution for payments.
- Stay away from unbelievable deals
In recent years, we discovered something exponentially true about amazing online deals. For instance, if the offer seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t more than a marketing lie. Use your common sense and gut feeling before falling for one of these deals. Only this way can you remain safe online and protect your bank account.
- Don’t shop online from a public Wi-Fi
One of the rookie mistakes that many consumers make is buying stuff online from public Wi-Fi networks. Unfortunately, most of these networks are vulnerable to regular hacker attacks. Sometimes, cybercriminals install malicious software on public Wi-Fi and infect everyone’s devices that connect to the network.
- Pick unbreakable passwords
Many people underestimate the protection of a strong password. Others don’t even bother setting a multi-character type of password. And, even worse, they then use it for all their accounts. So, if a hacker gets track of it, he can break into one’s email account, banking account, and other services.
Your best choice is to choose a strong password. Next, select various characters, such as numbers, punctuation marks, and other special symbols. However, the most crucial step is to never use it for more than one of your accounts.
- Check site security before any purchase
It is easy to tell if a website is safe for purchases. For instance, if it employs SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption, hackers have a minimum chance of discovering your account details.
Before you buy anything from any online shop, make sure that they are the real deal. And, you can do so by checking the start of the website’s name, which should be “HTTPS” rather than just “HTTP.”