For many people, the holiday season is all about spending time with friends and family. It’s also an opportunity to buy gifts for people you care about. No matter what your holiday traditions are, there is one thing that you should never ignore: online shopping safety. With so much of our data now stored by various companies and websites on our smartphones, it’s important to ensure your information is secure. Here are some tips that will help you stay safe when shopping online this year!
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Only Buy From Established Sites
If you’re shopping online during the holiday season, it’s important to only buy from established sites that have been around for a few years. This is because newer websites may not be as secure and could end up being hacked, leaving your personal information exposed! When making purchases, always check what type of SSL certificate they use, who runs the site (if it doesn’t say don’t trust them!), and look at reviews before purchasing anything.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication, also known as two-step verification or login verification, is a process that requires you to enter a code in addition to your password when logging into an account. This means anyone who has gained access to your passwords will not be able to log into your accounts because they do not have the necessary codes! Make sure you enable this feature on all of your online accounts before shopping online!
Ship To A Secure Location
If possible, always ship packages to a secure location where someone will be home during the day. Suppose you plan on having items delivered somewhere, and they sit unattended for too long. In that case, it could lead to missing delivery windows, which means getting everything before Christmas becomes more difficult! Also, if you’re using a site like Amazon, don’t forget to change your shipments from “guest” to your actual name.
Avoid Public Wi-Fi Networks
Public wi-fi networks, like those found at coffee shops and libraries, can be dangerous places. Even if they look legitimate, users who use these networks risk sending data over insecure connections that hackers could easily read. Not only this, but public wi-fi also typically doesn’t encrypt the information being sent between devices, which means anyone on the network could theoretically see everything going in and out of your device without having any special software installed beforehand! Only shop online using private wi-fi networks when making purchases during the holiday season.
Do Some Research Before Purchasing
Before making purchases during the holiday season, make sure you take some time and research what other customers are saying about the products various sites are offering. This can help ensure that if there are issues with shipment times or quality control issues, someone has already brought them up, so you don’t need to worry about it. While checking customer reviews, you should also ensure the site is trustworthy and has a good track record for processing payments.
Always Check The Return Policy
Before making any purchases, always check out the return policy of websites because this could save you from having to deal with returns in January or February when stores are trying to reduce their inventory! This way, even if someone ends up receiving something as a gift they don’t want, they know exactly where they stand before committing, so everyone stays happy during the holidays.
Don’t Click On Strange Emails
With the holiday shopping season in full swing, hackers and scammers will be trying to take advantage of people who don’t know better. One common tactic is sending out fake emails that look like they’re from a legitimate company. Instead, these emails direct users to phishing pages or lead them to disclose personal information online. Email providers can typically analyze email headers and tell if an email has come from where it appears to have originated. Therefore, make sure you always hover over links before clicking on anything because this could reveal the actual URL!
Avoid Using The Same Password On Multiple Sites
It’s important for everyone using social media platforms and websites during the holidays to avoid sharing passwords across multiple platforms. This is because hackers can access one account and use this information to break into all other accounts associated with the same email address! While it’s not always easy to keep track of different passwords, make sure you take time at least once a month or so updating your privacy settings for each site just in case someone does try to hack into any one of them.
Conclusion
There are many ways to protect yourself online while holiday shopping. It’s essential to take every precaution you possibly can to ensure safe online transactions while protecting your personal information. It’s also important to try and not get stressed out as that can lead to the kinds of mistakes that hackers are looking for. If you’re at all unsure about how safe a website is, try contacting their customer service before doing any transactions and take advantage of every feature they have in place to protect you! Happy Holidays!
