How To Stay Safe When Shopping Online [Online Safety Tips]

How to stay safe when shopping online? Right? Let’s find out the safest way to buy something from someone online.

Despite the global economic uncertainty in 2020, one of the sectors that have shown exponential growth in this COVID-19 pandemic is eCommerce and online shopping. These figures are expected to continue to rebound with a positive balance, and for 2023, a growth of 22% is, estimated.

Although there are significant advances to protect these operations, security when buying on the Internet is an issue that worries you, and here we bring you some tips to make your online purchases a successful and risk-free transaction.

 

7 Shopping Safety Tips To Stay Safe When Shopping Online

One of the questions you may ask yourself how to stay safe when shopping online? or what is the safest way to buy something from someone online? Besides, when the end of the year dates are so close and due to the contingency actions of the epidemic, it is very likely that access to shopping centers, department stores, and supermarkets will be restricted to avoid outbreaks and infections.

Both business owners and buyers will massively use eCommerce means to carry out these operations. Here are 7 promising online shopping safety tips that will tell you how to make purchases online safely.

 

1. Use Safe and Secure ECommerce Website
2. Take Care Of Your Personal Credentials
3. Use Strong Passwords
4. Keep Protecting Your Computer Softwares
5. Don’t Use Public Connections To Buy Online
6. Check the Seller’s Reputation
7. Use Secure Online Payment Gateways Instead of Your Card

 

1. Use Safe and Secure ECommerce Website

Always use well-known and trusted eCommerce websites like (Alibaba, Amazon, eBay) when making an online purchase. You should never follow a link whose provenance is unknown or looks spammy.

In most cases, scammers send lures through fake emails, imitating the appearance of a recognized site, or even the portal of your bank. Also, don’t be guided by false promises with discounts or promotions that try to lure you into clicking on a malicious link.

Whenever you can, validate that the page you are trying to access has the security lock, which indicates that said connection to the web page is encrypted. You can validate it in the URL since the site will start with HTTPS.

 

2. Take Care Of Your Personal Credentials

The site you are accessing must have a privacy policy where you can validate the treatment that will be given to your data. If it is not clear, or even worse, the site does not have these policies, it is best to avoid doing any operation there.

The data that will usually be requested to complete a purchase are credit card information, full name, email, shipping address, billing address, and contact telephone number. It will never be necessary to provide other information such as your bank account, driver’s license, or social security number.

 

3. Use Strong Passwords

Maybe you think that having only one password per site and having that password meet certain security standards can be overwhelming. But don’t worry, nowadays there are password managers that will help you in managing your passwords. Here are 5 tips when choosing a password :

 

1. Don’t reuse your passwords.
2. Try to change your password regularly. Ideally, it should be done every 90 days.
3. Don’t use your name, date of birth, or any other easy-to-find information.
4. Do not write down your passwords or leave them visible for example in your office.
5. Combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

Brute force attacks are very common, but if you have a strong password, it will be almost impossible for hackers.

 

4. Keep Protecting Your Computer Softwares

Antivirus software is essential today as they continually new threats appear. A security package for your computer equipment is a good investment since it will keep it updated and protected against new threats of viruses and malware. Keep up to date your computer software by scanning them with the latest and secure antivirus programs.

 

5. Don’t Use Public Connections To Buy Online

Computers for public use usually save form fields, which can have sensitive data about your banking information, username, and passwords. In the same way, try to avoid unknown or unsecured Wi-Fi networks, since in these networks it is possible to suffer a computer attack.

 

6. Check the Seller’s Reputation

Before clicking the buy button, spend a few minutes looking at reviews from other buyers. Check how many positive comments and opinions the seller has. Avoid making purchases if you see that the seller has negative reviews regarding payments, shipping times, and quality of the products they promote.

 

7. Use Secure Online Payment Gateways Instead of Your Card

Lately, it is very common that payment gateways are used to make online purchases, and many sellers and stores are implementing these payment processors as additional options that offer you other payment methods to the conventional ones. Among the most common are  Paypal,  Mercado Pago,  Amazon Pay,  Stripe among others.

Read Also: The Safest and Most Reliable Online Payment Methods for Ecommerce

So, these were the online shopping safety tips that allow you how to make purchases online safely? Enjoy the different options you have to make your purchases online through the Internet without neglecting your security; If you follow these tips, it will surely be a successful operation.