As the holiday shopping season picks up speed, scammers are revving their engines in anticipation – ready to prey on unsuspecting shoppers buying and selling online. Stay vigilant this festive time of year!
As the holiday season brings a flurry of online shopping, remember to stay vigilant with your cybersecurity! A little prevention now can save you from being hit by financial and privacy disasters later. Be sure to take advantage of this ounce-for-pound savings opportunity – it’s too important not to!
With the holiday season upon us, it’s essential to keep your online shopping safe and secure.
Avoid nasty surprises on the latest gadgets!
Stay ahead of the cybersecurity curve by ensuring that your computer, tablet and smartphone devices are equipped with up-to-date software. While a 10 minute update may be inconvenient in the moment, it’s well worth investing this small amount of time for long term security purposes.
With the holiday season upon us, make sure your devices are up to date and free from cyber threat. Installing updates before you start online shopping for gifts can help protect against hackers that take advantage of vulnerabilities found in device operating systems. Stay safe as you stock up on goodies!
Clicking on a link in an email may not be the safest thing to do
With the holidays comes an uptick in phishing scams. A simple click of a link from an email may seem harmless, but it could download malware without you even realizing! It’s better to be safe than sorry and type amazon.com into your browser directly instead if possible.
Shopping online is more secure when you visit a website directly! To save time and improve safety, store your favorite stores as bookmarks in your browser. That way, there’s no need to worry about the danger of clicking links from emails or messages.
To stay organized and secure, why not use a wallet app?
This festive season, your caution should be at its peak when entering your payment details online. Shopping on an unfamiliar website can leave you more vulnerable to financial fraud and loss – a potential nightmare for any holiday shopper!
Say goodbye to the days of handing out your payment card details and receiving a fraudulent statement in return! Now you can securely buy with ease using wallet apps such as Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal – saving merchants from ever seeing those sensitive digits.
Keep your financial info secure
Shopping online can be convenient and efficient, but it also comes with potential risks. Many websites—including Amazon—save your payment card details automatically, making future purchases easy to do quickly; however, this could put you in danger if a hacker were able to get access to your device or account. By taking the proper steps of protecting yourself from cyber criminals, not only will you ensure that more secure shopping experiences are possible – but protect valuable financial info too!
Shopping online is convenient, but there are risks. Data breaches can easily expose our personal information and payment details to malicious individuals. To stay safe when shopping online, be sure to limit the number of databases that store your sensitive data – it could make all the difference in protecting yourself from cybercrime!
After you’ve made your purchase, don’t forget to take care of the essentials – go into your account settings and remove that payment card! It’s an important step for security purposes.
Make Sure the Site Uses HTTPS (Emphasis on “S”)
Gone are the days of using HTTP when searching online – now, HTTPS is the new normal! This secure protocol encrypts any data sent through its browser to protect important information like names, addresses and payment methods. Peace of mind has never been easier or more accessible on the web!
Shopping online can be a risky business, so always make sure the website you’re using is secure. Look for HTTPS in the address bar and an accompanying lock icon before checking out with your credit card details!
Don’t let a wrong URL ruin your day
From time to time, all of us have been guilty of a typo; especially while on the go and typing away at our smartphone screens. That one tiny mistake can be costly though, as it could lead you into clicking through a duplicate website – like Amazonn(dot)com!
Cyber thieves are taking advantage of typosquatting by purchasing domains similar to popular retailers and setting up deceptive look-alike sites. Unsuspecting customers who enter the wrong web address may click through, thinking they’re on their trusted brand’s website while actually falling victim to scammers.
Don’t miss out on great deals – take a few extra seconds to make sure you’re shopping in the right place. Double-checking now could save you money later!
Beware of public Wi-Fi when shopping online!
This holiday season, be aware of the unseen onlookers! Hackers are lurking in public Wi-Fi networks just waiting to take advantage. Staying safe online is a must – don’t let them ruin your festive fun!
Lurking in the shadows of free hotspots, hackers can access what you type – including passwords and credit card info. Because someone else’s view of your data is far from private.
When you’re out and about, never make online purchases over a public Wi-Fi. For extra security, switch off your wireless connection and turn to your mobile carrier instead!
Don’t be fooled by fraudulent emails and texts
Over the holiday shopping season, phishing scammers ran rampant online. In fact, there was an astonishing 397% increase in domains known for typo-squatting – a form of malicious attack used to steal personal information and money from unknowing shoppers!
The holiday season offers a wealth of opportunities for phishing attackers, as emails offering deals or confirming orders become commonplace. Be extra cautious during this time to ensure your information stays safe!
Cyber criminals are getting increasingly savvy, creating strikingly similar emails that mimic the real thing from well-known brands like Target and Amazon. They count on unsuspecting recipients to click a malicious link or log in information so they can steal valuable personal data – guard yourself against their tricks!
Stay vigilant and watch out for deceptive emails pretending to be from big brands. It’s much safer to head straight over to the website rather than risk clicking a suspicious email link!
Keep track of your finances with banking alerts!
Keep an eye on your finances – make sure to check for any suspicious charges that might indicate a breach. An easy way to stay informed is by setting up banking alerts through your online banking app, so you have one less thing to worry about!
For example, many banks allow you to set up alerts for events such as:
- When a purchase occurs over a specified dollar amount
- When a purchase occurs from outside the country
Is your mobile device protected?
With holiday shopping season in full swing, you’ll want to make sure your devices are secure from malicious apps and malware. Protect yourself this season with a security checkup – contact us today for the peace of mind that comes with knowing your device is protected!
