Simple Tips for Secured Online Shopping

INTRODUCTION

Buying things online is a great way to get what you want, when you want it. But with so many products and websites out there, it’s also easy to expose your personal, private information. Fortunately, there are ways to stay secure on your purchases—and they don’t have to be hard!

Especially, this season, where we are all around the place shopping for gifts and goodies, either for the Holidays, other events, special occasions, or just because you feel like shopping a gift for yourself and your loved ones. Shopping online could get more convenient as you won’t have to travel, deal with long lines, and even bring a cash with you wherever you go. But just like any transaction we do; shopping online should be done with care and caution, in order to not get your information compromised.

Online safety doesn’t have to be hard. To help you stay safe and secure when shopping online, we’ve put together these tips:

ONLY TRANSACT DIRECTLY WITH LEGITIMATE SOURCES AND WEBSITES

It’s much better if you already know where to shop or what you exactly wanted, that way you can guarantee on its legitimacy or if you are dealing with the real thing. It is hard to trust sketchy and strange-looking websites. Also, you need to make sure you are only giving away your information in places you trust. So, you need to make sure that before you transact with them, you’re at least familiar with them and their services.

There are eCommerce sites like Amazon or eBay that makes it easier for you as they are obviously legitimate, with wide range of products and sellers to shop on and gives you some sort of customer protection. But at times, these sites are not always the way to go, and there are independent sellers with their own websites that has better options.

When buying items from companies you haven’t heard of before, do some research on their reputation! Search online and see if there are any complaints against them, such as fake reviews or scams related to payment methods and more.

HERE’S HOW TO CHECK IF THAT ONLINE STORE IS LEGITIMATE

• It is the right URL – Some popular shopping websites nowadays could get impersonated so well that you don’t notice you are signing into a phishing site (websites that gets any information you put in) You can always check on the top part of your browser (we always go with https://themadshop.com.au of course)
• Make sure it has a ‘secure’ connection and goes by ‘HTTPS’ – You can look at it on the URL bar at the top. There should be a padlock icon and the website should start with https://. Although some sites go by http://, HTTPS connection is the most ideal for stores because of its additional security layer.
• You can find option to talk to an employee – If it is your first time transacting with a store, make sure to familiarize with them and their customer service practices. One way to do it is to talk to them first, either via phone, chat, and email. Ask questions
• They have an informative ‘About’ Section – Legitimate online stores are very particular about giving the best experience and provide informational resources to customers. Make sure they have a thorough About Us, Terms and Conditions, Privacy policy, Returns Policy, Shipping Policy, FAQs, Contact, etc
• The website is the one they promoted everywhere – It helps because online businesses often promote their correct website everywhere. So, it is great to check out their social media, as well as any materials you had from them (brochures, business cards, receipts, etc) to make sure you are in the correct place
• They have a secure payment system – It’s ideal that the website should support secure online card payments. Us here in The Mad Shop, we use PayPal to establish a secure transaction, as well as protect the buyer’s information. Although we use the PayPal payment system, an account is not required.

If a website offers you products or services that you want to buy, and you are looking for a more advanced way to ensure a website’s security, then it’s important for you to check the domain name and look for an SSL certificate. This is a security feature that shows you the website has been verified by a trusted third party and that it can be considered safe to use. This can be done with simple research on Whois lookup.

READ CUSTOMER REVIEWS IF AVAILABLE

Customer reviews can be a great way to see what other people think about a website or product. They can be useful in helping you make a decision on whether or not you want to buy from that website, and it can also give you an idea of how well the company does with customer service if something goes wrong.

I recommend reading customer reviews before making any purchases online, In fact, if there are no reviews available for something that you’re interested in buying online then it may be best not to purchase it at all until more information becomes available (for example: if they don’t have any good reviews but the price looks good). But still, your call if you’re going to buy it of course.

Avoid Public WiFi if possible

Just to make sure, avoid public WiFi if you’re making a purchase out on public places. I recommend using your mobile data as it is more secure, or maybe go with networks that has a password. Public, Open WiFi could have malicious programs that could expose the users’ information.

Use mobile devices wisely (iPhones/Android phones). If possible use only WiFi networks that require passwords rather than public Wi-Fi networks at coffee shops and airports which could allow hackers access to sensitive data such as bank details just by carrying around an antenna capable of intercepting signals sent over those networks.

CHECK THE WEBSITE’S SECURITY PROVIDERS

When you’re shopping online, look for the padlock icon or word “secure” at the top of your browser window. This means that your connection to a site is encrypted and secure. If you see “https” in front of a website address, then it’s an encrypted version of that site—similarly secure to your bank account’s online portal.

Take note of any privacy policies being used on the site; this will tell you how much personal information they collect about your account (and thus what they could potentially do with that). It should also let potential buyers know where their data goes after purchase—for example, if they sell products through other websites like Amazon Marketplace rather than keeping everything within their own platform (or if there are other options available).

CONCLUSION

You don’t have to feel like your online purchases are unsafe. With the tips above, you can take steps to keep yourself safe while also enjoying all the convenience of e-commerce. We hope this article has helped you feel more confident in your online shopping!