When celebrating the holidays this year, you may find yourself doing more online shopping than usual. While shopping for gifts online has its convenient perks, there are also risks involved. Below are some tips to help keep your personal and financial information safe and secure.
Stick To Retailers You Know
As the days to the holidays count down, you may find that certain popular items may be sold out from most retailers. While it is important to get a loved one something off of their wishlist, make sure you purchase gifts from trusted retailers. You can double-check a website’s authenticity by ensuring the URL starts with an “HTTPS”, not just “HTTP”.
If you are unfamiliar with a business, make sure that you research them before making a purchase. Looking up reviews online is a good place to start when it comes to making sure that a business is legitimate. An excellent resource for this is the Better Business Bureau, where you can find praises and complaints about companies.
Monitor Your Activity with Banking Alerts
Keep your bank account safe this holiday season by making sure you are receiving alerts from your bank in the event that purchases are being made by someone who obtained your information illegally. While it is easier than ever to purchase virtually anything online, unfortunately, it also is easier than ever for scammers to get ahold of your personal information.
In 2015, the Insurance Information Institute estimated that $15 billion was stolen from 13.1 million U.S. consumers. This may seem shocking to some readers, but fortunately, there are steps you can take to ensure that you will be alerted in the event of a scam. Make sure to contact your bank to set up fraud alerts, which will either alert you by text or phone call, so that you can stop fraudulent charges before it’s too late.
Use Secure WiFi
With WiFi connections seemingly everywhere we go, it can be an afterthought to log in to a network before making a purchase. Make sure to connect to a secure WiFi network is essential to ensure your personal and financial information is kept safe. Only connect to networks you trust; if you don’t have a password set up on your personal network, make sure you do as soon as possible.
While shopping online may now seem like a startling thing, using the above tips will help keep your experience, as well as your financial information, safe. Just remember to stick to online stores that you know, and make sure the websites you use “HTTPS” and not just “HTTP”. Don’t forget to contact your local banking institution to see how you can set up fraud alerts, as well as making sure that your WiFi connection is safe and secure. Have a happy holidays and a safe online shopping experience!
I want to cancel my phone coverage. I managed to get a free phone from the state.
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