Shopping Purses

Let us say you found a $50 tablet computer online. Seems like a great deal. You feel wonderful that you chose not to shop at those branded retail online stores or you would not have found that great buy. The site even had those legal looking disclaimers and it asked all the right information about shipping details. And there was that thing that said it was secure. The question is, it is really secure?

The rule of thumb with online shopping is that if you have no clue from which business you are buying anything from don’t even try to shop there. You will risk losing money and personal information.

Security does not always mean convenience all the time. Most online shopping sites are open 24×7 from each and every corner of the globe. They try to vie for your attention by offering deals and attractive offers like comparison pricing, free gifts, discounts and free shipping. Most people who would like to save on gas and time, find shopping online very appealing.

However, are there still unsecure online shops that can wreak havoc in your life? The answer is yes.

If you would like to shop safely online, you need to abide by some basic security considerations:

1. Reputable online shops mean better protection. Shop with the more popular online retailers. Bigger retailers have more to lose if their reputation for security gets tossed out so they ensure that their sites are protected as much as possible. Their reputation is at stake if your information gets misused through any laxity of security on their part.

2. When you are in doubt, check out the retailer. If you find a great deal at an online store you have never heard of, look at their home page. Click the contact us link and look at the information. If there are no verifiable phone numbers and there is only an email address available, avoid that retailer like the plague. If there is a phone number, it would be best if you can try to call. If no human answers, or if the human can’t give you answers that make sense, do not risk shopping at that site.

3. Having encryption does not always mean security. When you shop online and you are about to enter the credit card information take a look at your browser’s address bar. You need the “http” to change into “https” plus a closed padlock icon needs to appear on the page. This padlock informs you that your information is secure. If that padlock is nowhere to be found and the URL does not change to “https” do not enter your credit card information. Even when there is the padlock and the “https”, it won’t hurt to look at the company’s privacy policy.

Another rule of thumb is that if the URL contains numbers in the beginning, like http://100.67.180.101@670%7878%, chances are, it is a scam.

4. Avoid using shared computers. Shared computers, especially the kind you see at a cyber-cafe is never safe. Many hackers can install a small device called the keylogger on the back of the keyboard. It is a device that captures everything you type. There are times when the keylogger is installed as software and therefor very hard to detect. The best thing to do is to avoid using shared computers when typing important information as credit card details or passwords.

5. Never pay with a debit card. Credit cards offer more protection. If a retailer tries to rip you off, you can always dispute the charges. With debit cards, the money is immediately credited to the retailer and it may take many months to get your money back if you ever actually get it back.

Shopping online can be a safe and secure experience provided you use your common sense and abide by certain basic security suggestions as those outlined above.