NordVPN gives advice on how to stay safe while shopping online as the busiest online shopping season is here with the larger number of online shoppers than ever. Therefore, nearly half (48%) of consumers who shopped online in 2015 have experienced payment fraud - which is nearly 80 million people.
Online stores are targeted by hackers who try to steal users’ financial details and then use it for money laundering or other schemes. Also, a shopping website may be a spoofed fraudulent website set up by hackers to steal data. NordVPN, a VPN service provider that helps secure online experience, advises to follow these simple steps:
1. https: the first thing you should always see while making an online payment is whether the payment gateway has an https URL. The “s” in the URL means that it is a secure protocol and your data is encrypted properly.
2. Be wary - being vigilant can help you a lot in the task of shopping online securely. Whenever a website requests for more information than is usually required, like your Social Service number or any other kind of personal information, it usually spells fraud.
3. Stay away from public terminals - public Wi-Fi networks are common hunting grounds for attackers and data snoopers who try to access your personal information and use it for their benefit on your expense. Since public networks have negligible security, you should try and avoid using them while making online payments. If you must do online transactions while using a public network, then you have to use a VPN to stay safe.
4. Use a VPN - VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) encrypt the data you between your computer and the VPN server, virtually hiding your web browsing activity. They are the best security mechanism you can employ to make sure the data you share over the internet is safe from prying eyes and remains confidential.
5. Stronger Passwords - weak passwords make it simple for hackers to break into your account and cause severe damage. It’ s always advised to change passwords in order to stay safe online, and that means having to use a unique password for each site or account.
The popularity of online shopping should not make consumers less cautious. The methods listed above can help anyone shop online securely. If something looks out of the ordinary and the deal looks too good to be true, it’s important to be very careful before clicking on suggested links. Every year, big online shopping periods, such as Christmas, make online fraudsters more innovative, but education about fraud prevention and simple precaution can keep all shoppers safe.
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