What's Better Than Mother's Day Shopping? Not Getting Scammed.

Are you planning on purchasing gifts for the special women in your life this Mother’s Day? If you're shopping online, there are several ways to do so SECURELY. With the holiday season, cybercriminals escalate various scams to exploit unsuspecting individuals searching for gifts on the internet. These scams vary from false offers to fraudulent giveaways, all aimed to steal your money and personal information. Times and technology have rapidly evolved in the past year alone, meaning previous safety measures are no longer sufficient. In today’s blog, we'll discuss the optimal methods for online payment, common scams to be wary of, and the top best practices for safe online shopping. We all want the women in your life to feel special (of course), but not at the expense of you getting scammed into deep trouble.

How To Make Online Purchases Safely

Should you utilize your debit card for online purchases? No! Debit cards are directly linked to your bank account. One bad purchase, and you just made it extremely challenging to retrieve your funds in the event of a fraudulent transaction. This could lead to frustrating encounters with customer service, financial losses, and even potential legal expenses. Use a credit card or a third-party payment service to mitigate these risks instead.

Credit cards offer robust fraud detection systems, which can usually catch discrepancies when they occur. Providers like Capital One offer additional security features such as virtual credit cards, which generate unique 16-digit numbers, CVVs, and expiration dates for online or in-store transactions. While these virtual cards are linked to your ACTUAL account, they shield your actual card details from merchants, keeping your information safe. Bonus: These cards can be easily deactivated, simplifying the process of canceling unnecessary subscriptions without involving the merchant.

Third-party platforms like PayPal present another great secure payment alternative by safeguarding your financial and personal information from sellers. Transactions occur without the exchange of sensitive data, enhancing your privacy and security online.

Online Shopping Best Practices

Utilizing a credit card, virtual card, or third-party payment service is a great initial step, but it isn’t the only proactive measure you should take to safeguard your online transactions. When making purchases online, make sure you also:

1. Verify the authenticity of websites:
   
   Cybercriminals often create counterfeit websites resembling well-known brands. Always visit the REAL website directly to search for your desired item.
2. Avoid offers that seem too-good-to-be-true:
   
   If an offer seems too good to be true, it most likely is. Research the deal on the official website to confirm it actually exists.
3. DO NOT click on promotional links in emails:
   
   Cybercriminals can set up spoof emails impersonating your favorite brands. They WILL contain malicious links that compromise your network security. DON’T CLICK THEM.
4. Utilize a VPN:
   
   Protect your location and browsing activity from prying eyes by using a virtual private network.
5. Refrain from saving payment information:
   
   While password tools aim to simplify your life, saving payment details increases vulnerability to theft.
6. Employ unique logins for loyalty accounts:
   
   Using distinct email and password combinations for each loyalty account reduces the risk of widespread compromise in case of a security breach.
7. Enable alerts:
   
   Take advantage of banking system notifications to receive alerts for all transactions or those exceeding a specified amount, enabling you to take prompt action in case of suspicious activity.

Cybercriminals will take advantage of any method they can to steal both your personal and financial data. To ensure your safety, it's imperative to take a proactive approach toward protecting your financial information, especially within your business operations. If hackers can and are willing to put in this much effort into stealing your information and money for lower-priced purchases, imagine the lengths hackers would go to access your company accounts. The value of your customer data, employee records, and proprietary information can be worth millions of dollars to them.

If you're uncertain about your company's current level of security or just want to get a second opinion regarding potential vulnerabilities in your systems, we will perform a FREE IT Systems Assessment. Our comprehensive evaluation involves a thorough examination based on a multi-step security checklist, aiming to identify any potential entry points cybercriminals might exploit within your network.

Click here to book your FREE IT Systems Assessment now or call our office at 704-470-9009.

Happy Mother’s Day shopping!