When you are shopping for goods or services on the Internet, there’s a great deal more invested in your purchase than you may at first realize. The fact of the matter is that shopping on the Internet can be a great deal more risky than you know.
Luckily, there are some well tested safety tips that you can adopt in order to make your surfing and shopping experience both enjoyable and fully secure. Here’s a handy rundown of some of the most important things you should know when shopping on the Internet.
Never, Under Any Circumstances, Log Your Info On To An Unsecured Website
The first and most important thing that you should know in order to keep your Internet shopping experience completely safe is to never, under any circumstances whatsoever, log your info on to an unsecured website. Look for the “lock” icon, as well as the “https” in the URL of the website. These will normally appear either at the bottom of your screen in the status bar, or at the top of your screen in the address bar.
If you don’t see either of these familiar “secure” symbols, this is a very bad sign that could mean that the site you are about to log on to is really a phishing site that has been specially designed and engineered for the purpose of stealing your credit card details.
Under no circumstances should you enter any of your private information into their supposedly “secure” online store. If the site itself cannot prove that it is safe and secure, how can you expect their online store to be legitimate? This is one trap that is relatively easy to avoid, and you should definitely do so.
Whenever You Order From A New Website, Check Your Online Billing Statements
Whenever you order products from a site you have never dealt with before, even one that displays all the signs of being a legitimate and reputable secured e-commerce site, make sure that you keep a watchful eye on your online billing statements. This is especially important if you are planning to do the bulk of your online shopping during the holiday season.
Identity thieves will make use of cleverly disguised phishing sites to try to steal your credit card information, so make sure to check your online balance and all history of transactions made on your cards on a daily basis. This way, you won’t be caught off guard if your balance shows a sudden withdrawal from your account that you did not make.
If you do spot something that looks like it definitely didn’t occur with your authorization, make sure you contact your credit card company or Paypal immediately. Let them know that you are contesting these new charges and that you authorize them to conduct a full search on your behalf. The sooner you contest these charges, the less liable you will be for them.
Use A Price Comparison Website To Get The Absolute Best Deal
When you are shopping online, your natural first concern should be to get the best possible deal at the best possible price. In order to accomplish this important goal, you can make use of special price comparison websites, such as Shopsmart among many others.
These price comparison websites can help you save a great deal of money by simply pulling up competitive prices from many different websites in order to help you determine which one is the best one to shop at. Combined with a careful eye toward online security, using a comparison site is the absolute best way to save money and stay safe on the Internet.
