Preventing Online Scams: How to Shop Online with Utmost Security

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(Newswire.net — January 16, 2020) — Day-by-day online shopping is continuing to dominate the mainstream shopping market, primarily due to the plethora of advantages it offers over its offline shopping counterpart. People no longer have the time or the energy to invest in a shopping venture that forces them to go through the tedious process of door-to-door marketing. Of course, offline shopping still provides you with the advantage of having the freedom to perform authentic quality-check before any purchase. However, online shopping too, has evolved tremendously over the course of time narrowing down its skeptical characteristics to the bare minimum.

One particular aspect, however, that continues to pose a serious threat to online shopping is the increasing exploitation of users via cyber-criminal activities. In the present age of complete digitalization where every minute aspect of our everyday activities revolve around a tech-centred ecosystem, cybercrime has become the most relevant modern threat, and online shopping is one of the prime victims of such diverse nature of scams that exist on the internet. 

Luckily, there are a generous proportion of online shopping sites such as Amazon, eBay, Craigslist, etc. that allow you to shop with a minimal degree of cybercrime threats. However, there are still thousands of bogus websites and an infinite number of ways you can be cheated/ robbed while shopping online, especially if you are a newbie.

Here are some of the useful techniques/ precautions you can implement to ensure optimum web security when you turn on your computer to shop online. 

  1. There is no such thing as a “too good of a deal to pass.” 

The majority of people who fall prey to cyber scams are those that give in to the “clickbait” offers that is flooded on the internet. Over the course of evolution, humans have grown to develop a peculiar fascination over cheap deals, primarily due to our growing obsession with the shopping venture. And that is precisely what hackers turn their attention to when they devise a scam to loot you of your credit/ debit cards. A countless number of ads pops up instantly when you click on to your web browser promising jaw-dropping deals that are too good for your gullible shopping instincts to resist. However, the majority of those times, those mind-boggling deals are a way to lure you into unsafe websites where your private information can be easily obtained and used for further exploitation, particularly your bank details.  

Except for a handful of genuine websites such as https://www.dfydaily.com/ that offers authentic and amazing deals on various tech gadgets, the same cannot be said for the majority of contradicting websites. If you come across a deal that looks or sounds too good to be true, trust your gut and stay away from clicking on to such ads. 

  1. Never shop while you are on a public Wi-Fi

In the present age of internet-focused generation, mooching off a free public Wi-Fi is one of the few luxuries that, of course, come free. Public Wi-Fi networks allow you to browse the internet without having to waste your “paid” data plan, which presents an ideal scenario to help you browse/ download anything you want for free. However, the “free internet” tag of public Wi-Fi connection comes with a “catch,” and that deeply affects your privacy status when you venture out into the internet. Usually, when you browse the internet using your genuine network connection, your private information is protected by a layer of encryption that prevents it from being exploited by hackers. 

However, public Wi-Fi networks do not have any kind of security encryption which directly exposes your private information risking your bank account details when you pay online using such an insecure internet network. Making online payments on shopping sites using Public Wi-Fi should, therefore, be avoided to protect your private information data.

  1. Look for secure websites 

More often than not, you risk exposing your private information even when you are on a secured internet network. This usually happens when you venture out on an unsecured website (unknowingly, of course!). Most of these websites are a result of clickbait, which you visit on the lure of cheap deals. However, even if you have learned to identify those fake deals and taken precautions not to fall victim to such easy traps, there are a numerous number of ways you can find yourself trapped in such unsafe websites.

Here are some of the simple ways you can identify if a website is safe for you. 

  • Green address bar 

The green address bar is usually your go-to indication that the website you’re currently on is safe to browse. This generally occurs when you surf on your computer.

  • Look for Https address name 

There are two types of website address names on the internet – the ones that have “Http” prefix, while others are preceded by “https.” The “S” in https represents “Security,” which means the website is safe to visit.