How to Shop Safely Online this Holiday Season

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Do not get suckered by an online scam this holiday season! We all love a good online deal, but do you know who else loves and online deal? Cybercriminals and scammers looking for an easy opportunity to trick you just like the Grinch!


So how can you shop safely online this holiday season? Here are eight helpful tips to keep you safe…

1. Stay away from ransomware. Don’t ever open email attachments from a shopping website that are not trusted or well-known and be sure to back up your files on a regular basis just in case you do get infected with ransomware.

2. Be wary of phishing scams. Never, ever click on a link that is sent unexpectedly through email, SMS or other messengers such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.

3. Always use strong passwords. Use a combination of letters, numbers, special symbols as well as upper and lower case letters to ensure that your password is strong and harder for hackers to figure out.

4. Only shop on safe websites. Before you make a purchase and trust an online shopping website enough to input your private banking details, as well as passwords, etc., read through the online reviews.

5. Do not shop while connected on public Wi-Fi. Cybercriminals love public Wi-Fi just like you because an unsecured wireless network makes it easy for them to steal your private information such as your passwords.

6. Turn off your Bluetooth. Take the simple steps that are important in order to ensure that your smartphone connection is always safe. So always turn off your Bluetooth and connect via cellular connection as it is much more secure.

7. Say no to freeware. Don’t be tricked by these free “gifts”, a lot of the time they will include adware that will infect your computer or something much, much worse.

8. Don’t be fooled by fake confirmation emails. A lot of scammers will forge confirmation emails to trick you into taking the bait and clicking a link without thinking.

At the end of the day, you need to have common sense and make sure that you stay safe when shopping online this holiday season. If it sounds too good to be true, then it is!

To find out more about shopping safely online as well as our other OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) services, please call us on 021 110 0422 or email contact@osint.co.za

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