Before the option of shopping online existed, customers were accustomed to only the choice and opening times of local shops. Since the rise of online shops they are able to various products from any shop at any time, now adopting a 24/7 lifestyle. The opportunity of ordering products on the internet comes along with many benefits: a greater range of products, an overview over different deals and prices and the convenience of someone delivering the product.
But shopping online can come with a huge risk. The number of purchases made online is constantly growing, along credit card fraud. Several people are targeted by credit card fraud and it is not being easily identified by the lack of vigilance towards bank accounts and statements.
“Unfortunately online shopping also harbors some dangers such as Identity theft, credit card fraud or malware software”, Christian Schiller, co-founder of the price comparison Website PricePanda notes. “But online shopping can be made safe with sticking to some simple rules. As online shopping is our daily business we have created a guideline that helps people to stay safe while carrying out an online shopping spree.”
Here are the 10 tips PricePanda recommends to follow to create a safe online shopping experience:
- Only shop at a known website adress. Be careful with fake websites that use popular domains but a different top-level domain. E.g. “.net” instead of “.com”.
- Check the website´s safety level. “Verisign trusted seal” points that it has a trusted identity and passes a daily malware scan and before submitting your data check the URL. “https://” instead of “http://” indicates that your information is safe. Other evidences for a safe page include the locked padlock in the status bar located at the bottom of the browser and the address field turning green. Price comparison websites like PricePanda check the identity and credibility of the shops they list. So you can guarantee that you are buying from a trustworthy online store.
- Be careful with giving data away. Only provide the shopping portals with data they really need and never sent credit card details via email.
- Check your bank statements regularly. Do not wait for the bill. There may be a high chance to acquire any stolen funds if frauds are reported within a certain time fraime, usually 30 to 60 days.
- Secure your device. Costs for an Anti-Malware-Software are low and will prohibit inconvenient viruses, worms or Trojan horses.
- Use strong passwords with a good combination of letters, numbers and symbols and do not use them twice. Otherwise hackers may be able to break them and enter the personal account easily.
- Avoid making purchases from public computers or hotspots. There it is easier for people to steal private information. However, if you must use public networks for online shopping use verified hotspots only and ensure no one gets a glance when you are inputting your private data. Hotspot shields increase the security level.
- Check the credibility of offers. Promising deals from dubious websites you receive via mail are most likely to be false.
- Always log out of your browsing sessions and never safe your payment details. Closing the browser is not enough to disable the access to the personal account and is an easy game for hackers.
- Carefully choose your payment method. Debit cards are not safe enough for purchasing online. Credit cards offer a higher protection against identity theft. It is even to transfer money on a disposable card and use that one to pay the bill. If the money on the card is used up it cannot be used anymore.
When shopping online customers should make sure the great benefits of it do not make them imprudent against the possible dangers. So it is advisable to take some time and be cautious. If the ten tips above are followed customers can not only enjoy a convenient, but also a safe and insouciant online shopping experience.
PricePanda is a price comparison Website for emerging markets. It provides users with a transparent overview of prices for the latest gadgets and other products. In addition, the PricePanda website displays professional reviews about its listed products as well as shop reviews. PricePanda was founded in 2012 by Christian Schiller and Louis Iskandar and is currently available in Argentina, Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico , Singapore and the Philippines. Furthermore, PricePanda is available on the go via app for all Android and iOS devices.
