Our final edition of the Safety Online series focuses on buying items online. ‘Tis the season and many of us are buying more and more products online as an alternative to in-store because of the affordability, the vast amount selection and flexibility. Here are our 4 tips on ensuring safety during online purchases.
- Use trusted brands that have a strong reputation – These retailers tend to have strengthened security measures with quality and pricing that you can trust.
- Use credit cards and secure payment services instead of debit cards – Credit cards offer consumers additional protection when shopping online mainly because the credit card account is in no way linked to the funds you actually own. Likewise, using secure online payment services, like that offered by PayPal, are advisable.
- Look out for https URL and the padlock symbol – is an online safety protocol that encrypts information so that data can be kept private and protected. In most cases, the text in the URL is preceded by a padlock symbol (if this is missing, the website should be treated with caution). Websites that use https are safe because they utilise SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to encrypt any information that is distributed online, such as your credit card details.
- Opt to use your mobile phone network over public Wi-Fi – Insecure hot-spots can make you vulnerable to attack. Using your own mobile phone internet to make purchases reduces this risk.
This post is courtesy of we live security and for further information click here.
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