Being Safe on Cyber Monday
Since the 1960’s, the day after Thanksgiving has been known as Black Friday, a day regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. In 2005, in an effort to persuade people to shop online, Cyber Monday was created. They both are a time for sales and promotions geared towards enticing consumers to buy and prices “you won’t see again.”
While Black Friday poses its own risks, we will explore some of the areas you should consider during your shopping on Cyber Monday.
1. Be Wary of Emails
You’re familiar with the deals that Cyber Monday presents, but so are scammers. Scammers will use phishing techniques and provide links to seemingly safe sites. Don’t click on links in emails unless you’re sure they come from a safe source.
2. Your Eyes Deceive You
Those emails mentioned above could be linked to what you think is the legit website of the retailer. When a scam company creates a mirror of a retail site, like Amazon, for example, this is called spoofing. Its job is to steal your passwords. Since most of us have an account on Amazon, which includes our payment information and our address, you think nothing of going to the login and entering your username and password. Once you do, the scammers have that information and now can access your account on the real Amazon website.
How do you combat this? Make sure you are on the site you are supposed to be on. Check the URL. Does it have an https:// (or look for a green padlock) in front of it letting you know the site is encrypted? Also, check to make sure the domain is the right one, ie amazon.com as opposed to amazonc.om. Where the period falls means the difference between landing on a legit site or on fake site. Sometimes they may reverse two letters (i.e. amzaon.com) and because the human brain will automatically fix the mistake, it will read it as if it’s really amazon.com rather than amzaon.com.
3. Credit vs Debit
If at all possible, use credit cards vs. debit cards. Whether you are using credit or debit cards, if you are a victim of fraud and report fraudulent charges, banks and stores are liable for fraud, not you.” However, if you are using a debit card, that money will be put on hold until the investigation clears those funds. This could be a problem if rent is due and your money was frozen waiting for the result of the investigation. Using credit cards will help prevent this.
4. Password Reuse
Now that everything is online, and we have so many accounts to remember (with usernames and passwords), it’s easy to use the same password for everything. This becomes very dangerous when your password for online shopping sites is the same as your bank account. Avoid using the same password you have on your shopping sites as your bank, social media or cloud storage. If you have trouble remembering your passwords, using a password manager.
5. Computer (and Browser) Maintenance
Make sure you not only keep your operating system and malware/virus scanners updated, but you need to keep your browser updated as well. Hackers have targeted browsers looking for security vulnerabilities that they will use to gain your information. They will the extension capabilities of many browsers to get you to download software (coupon toolbars for example) that are used to exploit those vulnerabilities. Also, if you visit a website that informs you that an update is need for Flash (for example), go to Adobe’s website for Flash (https://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/) and update it that way rather than on the website you saw the error. These are usually fake warnings that can install harmful software on your computer.
6. Out with the Old
Now that you’ve purchased new computers, phones, and hard drives; you need to get rid of the old, tired equipment properly, so your private data is not out there for the world to see or for someone to exploit. You can securely destroy and recycle these and more using our Ship-n-Destroy service. Need help? Get your free instant quote right HERE.