Practice Safe Online Shopping: The Rise of E-Commerce Scams in 2020

Since the pandemic has caused many businesses to close doors since March of 2020, they have been forced to completely change their strategy on how they can reach their customers. Many have had to depend on ecommerce and digital marketing to conduct transactions and maintain customer relationships. In honor of Cyber Monday, we wanted to deliver some tips to assure that online shopping is done safely and securely, which is more important now than ever in this rising digital age for both businesses and consumers.

1. Use familiar websites and research the vendors you want to order from. Make sure the website is using a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) by assuring the URL starts with HTTPS instead of HTTP. Taking extra precautions, such as using a reputable Anti-Virus software, will also help protect you from scams.

2. Create strong passwords! Avoid using words that are easy to guess or that you post frequently on social media, such as pets, family members, birthdays, and so on. Make sure they are unique and that you change them periodically, and set up two factor authentication to keep your information secured.

3. Do not overshare your information. If the seller is asking for unusually personal information, proceed with caution! It is also good to be aware of other common scams such as gift card exchanges and phishing scams.

4. Avoid saving your passwords and payment information in your browser. If you do, it then only takes one compromised password to gain access to all of that information. Be sure to check your banking statements regularly to assure no fraudulent charges show up.

5. Avoid online shopping with public networks. Instead, try to use a private network, such as your home network, and secure it with a unique password. For businesses and some residencies, the best practice is to set up a virtual private network (VPN).