Online shopping, eCommerce and all virtual business dealings have made the world into one awesome small shopping village and truth is, they have come to stay. Research shows that 5.7 percent of adults will use their mobile devices to do comparison shopping before making a purchase. Alibaba.com sold a whopping $462 billion worth of goods in 2015, (Mashable.com), Shopify announced that they now have over 300,000 merchants on their platform, as stated in their 2016 second-quarter reports. Some brick and mortar businesses even run online stores concurrently.
Sadly, there would always be bad guys, whether in physical stores or on the net. Do we abandon technology and all the ease it provides because of a few troublemakers? NO!
Your fears may be well-founded, you may know someone who’s been ripped off while shopping online same way you may have seen a shoplifter pilfer merchandise off the shelves of a store. There are basic security measures to follow, you wouldn’t scream out your ATM pin while standing on a queue to use the cash dispensing machine, would you? As you shop this season, keep these basic rules of thumb.
Shop on Familiar Websites
Have you seen websites like www.getfreeiphone-xyz.net? Avoid them! Beware of misspellings too, www.homelyng.com is not the same website as www.homelyng.net. Also, following links on company blogs or newsletters is way safer than some search engine results.
(Repeat after me), HTTPS:// not HTTP://
Trust me, that S is a big deal. S equals SSL (secure sockets layer), just know that it is an encryption that ensures maximum security. Also, look out for an icon of a locked padlock in the left corner of the address bar.
Strong Passwords Only
This has been stressed since the advent of the world wide web! It cannot be overemphasized Some websites won’t even let you create a profile unless your password strength pass their specified criteria. Be creative, choose something even your closest friend may not be able to guess.
Remember, Free Wifi Isn’t Always Free
I know right! That awesomeness of searching for WiFi and finding one without any password barrier to surmount! Please to avoid stories that touch, do not do your online shopping with this newfound gift. Also, remember to log out of any online profile used with your free internet even emails and close your browser when you’re done.
Happy Shopping!!!