Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
With the official start of the holiday season upon us, thoughts turn to Black Friday and shopping. In the online world, we have Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, which online merchants point to as the start of the online shopping season.
Here are some tips for gift research, deal hunting and shopping online:
1. Update your security software:
a. Update your anti-virus software (set it to do this automatically if it doesn't already);
b. Update your anti-spyware software;
c. Update your Windows operating system with Windows Updates
2. Shop only at reputable online web sites:
This is trickier than it sounds, because some sites you've never heard of are more serious about protecting your personal information than major, well-known stores.
While there are many outstanding web sites that are unknown, you should do your homework before buying from a site you're unfamiliar with:
a. Does the site offer a way to contact customer service by phone?
b. Does the site have a Privacy Policy?
c. Does the site have refund and exchange policies?
d. Does the site offer information on the company and its owners?
e. Has the site been reviewed by other shoppers (Google it to find out)?
f. Does the site have third-party seals of approval from online ratings services?
3. Shop at secure web sites:
a. Check your web browser for a closed padlock when you reach the payment page;
b. Check the address bar in your web browser to see if the web site address begins with "https://" when you reach the payment page;
If you don't see these, the payment page is not secure.
4. Be wary of email offers:
Spam increases dramatically during the holiday shopping season, and spammers have become more and more clever about tricking unsuspecting Internet users into clicking on links in emails that look like they're from legitimate businesses.
Before you click on a link in an email that could install a virus on your computer or take you to a fraudulent site, hover your cursor over the link to reveal the address the link will take you to. If it's not going to the web site of the company the email purports to be from, don't click it.
You can also go directly to the company's web site and email or call customer service to determine if the email offer you received is legitimate.
5. Use safe payment mechanisms:a. You can use a credit card -- if the merchant doesn't deliver, you can cancel the purchase;
b. You can use a temporary credit card;
c. You can use a third-party payment service such as
PayPal, which handles the payments in such a way that the merchant never sees your payment information.
6. Never give your Social Security Number to an online shopping site:
Your SSN is the one key piece of information identity thieves need to steal your identity. Online merchants don't need this to sell you something. The only possible exception might be if you're applying for a store credit card online.
7. Never install a toolbar or other software that an online shopping site asks you to install:
Many of these toolbars and applications perform spyware-like behavior, are spyware, or cause other computer problems.
Always keep in mind that many of these items -- secure shopping, third-party seals of approval, privacy, returns and exchange policies -- can be easily faked by online crooks. So when in doubt, be sure to Google the company. If it has had overwhelmingly bad reviews or no reviews at all, be very wary.
