A cybersecurity expert has tips for staying safe as you shop online this holiday season.
The holiday season is here, and more than half of shoppers are gearing up to buy gifts online. But an increase in online shopping also means a rise in scams.
Before you click “checkout,” check out these tips from University of Missouri cybersecurity expert Prasad Calyam, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science, a professor of cyber security, and the director of the Center for Cyber Education, Research and Infrastructure at Mizzou (CERI):
When shopping online for holiday gifts, how can you verify a website is legitimate?
When you shop on an e-commerce website, you need to do your homework to ensure that the site is legitimate and not a fake set up by a scammer to capture personal information for financial gain. Use trusted sources for customer reviews, check the site’s rating through the Better Business Bureau, or confirm that the online store has a physical location and customer service information. If using a mobile shopping app, download it from trusted sources such as the Apple Store or Google Pay, which feature customer reviews and ensure app safety.
How can you ensure your online payment is secure?
Online payment should only be made through secure sessions on legitimate vendor sites to ensure your payment information is encrypted and cannot be intercepted during the transactions. To verify that a vendor online payment transaction is secure before providing financial information, look for a padlock icon and “https” at the beginning of the vendor site’s address.
What type of payment method is the safest for making online purchases?
Using your credit card or a payment service such as PayPal, Google Pay, or Apple Pay is the safest way to make payments for online purchases because they offer more consumer protection in case of a fraud incident. When possible, enable multi-factor authentication for your online purchase transactions to proactively block fraud.
How can you stay safe while shopping online using free or public WiFi?
It is important to use secure networks when shopping online, and public/free WiFi networks are not adequately secure. One option is to save items in your cart when connected to a public/free WiFi then connect to a secure network at your home or office later to provide financial information and complete the purchases.
What are some red flags to look for when you receive an email promoting a discount or other special offer?
When you receive emails with links to click for sales or special promotions, do not click until you verify the links point to a legitimate vendor’s address. Also, if a promotion seems too good to be true, you should be very wary and check for red flags that relate to scammers.
Any other tips for protecting your data while shopping online?
If you are asked to provide information during the online purchase, you can skip optional fields where you need to share more information than necessary to complete your transaction. In general, it’s best not to save your payment information on online websites. Use a password manager to organize your login information across multiple online shopping websites. Lastly, make it a habit to monitor all your bank and credit card accounts for any suspicious or unauthorized activity.
Source: University of Missouri
