Play It Safe This Holiday Season: Simple Tips for Protecting Your Privacy While Shopping Online
While many of us may be scaling down the scope of our holiday shopping this year in face of continuously difficult economic conditions, most of us will still incorporate some gift giving into our holiday plans. With our increasingly busy and overstretched lives, the convenience of online shopping is often the preferred method for buying all those holiday gifts. While online shopping offers us access to a wide selection of goods and services, often at very competitive prices, it is not without its risks. Here are some best practices for keeping safe while shopping on the web.
Ensure That Your Computer Is Safe: Risks are always out there, but the burst in online shopping that occurs this time of the year makes it an attractive time for online crooks as well. Be prepared for any potential attacks by ensuring that you have the most recent security updates and anti-virus software installed on your computer.
Check Out Website Before Placing an Order or Providing Any Personal Information: Read the website’s privacy policy and user agreement(s) and ensure that you understand the site’s polices before interacting with it. Also, watch out for imposter websites. Many websites appear to look just like the site of your bank or favorite retailer, but are actually just bait sites designed solely to lure in unsuspecting visitors and obtain their personal information.
Confirm That Your Transactions Are Secure: Before paying for a product or service online, look for an “s” in the URL (https://) and look for a “lock” symbol in the lower right corner. You can also right-click anywhere on the site and select properties to uncover the real URL for a website. You can, and should, also determine whether or not the site is encrypted.
Conduct Transactions Only Via Secure Connections: Conclude your shopping transactions online only when you are sure of the security of your connection. Avoid using unsecure wireless connections when shopping online.
Browsing shopping sites is safe enough regardless of the connection, but when it comes time to make your purchase, avoid doing it on open wireless connections, including those in Internet cafes, hotels and public places. Also, if you have a wireless connection at home, make sure it is password protected and secure. As tempting as it may be, you should also avoid doing your holiday shopping at work — many companies have policies limiting the use of the web for personal activities like online shopping, and a growing number of employers are monitoring web use.
Review Your Statements: Be sure to review your bank and credit card statements promptly and frequently. Notify your bank immediately if you see any questionable transactions. Depending on the form of payment and your financial institution’s policies, delays in reporting discrepancies can impact your rights and potential liability for fraudulent charges.
Online shopping is a tremendous convenience. Without it, many of us would be challenged to complete all of our holiday shopping on time. While it does raise certain risks, by taking a few simple precautions, you will be able to snag the great bargains of the holiday season without falling prey to those lacking the holiday spirit.
Cross-posted at As The Pages Turn.
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ABOUT
Jacqueline Klosek, Senior Counsel in the Business Law Department of Goodwin Procter LLP, is a frequent author and commentator on data privacy and security. You can email her at jacquelineklosek@gmail.com -
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