Cyber Monday Safe Shopping Tips

This year’s Cyber Monday on-line shopping frenzy is expected to be the biggest ever – with an estimated total of more than $6.5 billion changing hands – but bear in mind, a big part of smart shopping is safe shopping – meaning there are a few things you should keep in mind:

  1. GO DIRECTLY TO A STORE’S WEBSITE INSTEAD OF USING SEARCH ENGINES TO LOOK FOR DEALS.  If you happen to find a deal using a search engine, try to verify it by searching for the exact name of the deal in quotes. If it’s a scam, then it’s likely someone will have already put out a warning.
  2. BEWARE OF POP-UPS AND OTHER DIGITAL ADS. Many pop-ups could contain fake coupons, either redirecting you to malicious sites or exposing you to cross-site scripting attacks. If a coupon seems to come out of nowhere with a too-good-to-be-true offer, don’t think twice. Just click that “x” and shut it down.
  3. WATCH FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SCAMS, ESPECIALLY ON FACEBOOK Cybercriminals are using fake or compromised Facebook accounts in order to post links to amazing deals that don’t actually exist.
  4. DUMP CYBER MONDAY E-MAILS WITH ATTACHMENTS IN THE GARBAGE Cyber Monday emails with attachments, especially zip files, are super suspect—it’s possible, in fact likely, that they contain malware. Delete them immediately. If you get an email from a store claiming to have a deal, type the store’s URL directly into your browser instead of clicking on the link. If the site doesn’t verify the deal, you know it’s a fake.
  5. MAKE SURE YOU’RE ON A SECURE CONNECTION Look for the padlock icon to the left of the URL when you go to check out. If it’s there, then that means the information passed between a store’s server and your browser remains private. In addition, the URL should read “https” and not just “http.”
  6. DO NOT USE DEBIT CARDS TO SHOP ON-LINE Want to give cybercriminals direct access to your bank account? Then by all means, use your debit card! Otherwise, play it safe by using credit cards or a PayPal account that’s linked to a credit card. While many banks are cracking down on fraudulent withdrawals, you’ll still have to wait for your money while they investigate the charges.
  7. AVOID USING PUBLIC WIFI TO SHOP All that a cybercriminal needs to do to get a public wifi password and wreak havoc is order a coffee. If you’re shopping and entering personal data, its best to do it on your secure wifi connection at home.
  8. MAKE SURE YOUR COMPUTER SOFTWARE/SECURITY IS UP-TO-DATE BEFORE SHOPPING ON-LINE Make sure software on your computer is up-to-date, including your OS, browser, and other apps. And if you don’t already have it, install a cybersecurity program on your desktop (whether it’s a Mac or PC) that prevents malware infection to insure maximum coverage. In addition, since mobile shopping is set to outpace desktop shopping for the first time this year, it’s a smart idea to download a cybersecurity program for your phone. If you’ve already covered your cybersecurity bases, make sure you run updates on all those programs as well.

 

For more information simply visit the website https://blog.malwarebytes.com/

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