Best tips to avoid phishing in online shopping on Cyber Monday

Safety in online shopping is an common issue for both consumers and businesses, especially during special shopping occasion like Black Friday or Cyber Monday. As a large number of customers flock to online stores and e commerce sites on sales occasions, cybercriminals can take advantage of the high traffic and customers psychology to phish.

It is essential to remember that the Internet is not a safe controlled environment but a place without rules. The truth is that there is no guarantee of your safety when you go shopping at online stores, and even major e commerce sites can also be affected by security breaches.

This blog will list some of the most significant security risks and give practical tips to help you shop safely on online stores in Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Phishing

During special shopping occasions like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, many shoppers are more likely to fall victim to phishing. In fact, many attacks are sent directly to people via email to steal payment and personal information.

The attackers send out phising emails in the form of big retailers with attractive offers, which is attractive enough for many shoppers to make inaccurate decisions and click on toxic links. These links may steal your personal and payment data or take malware into your device.

Phising campaigns are created to control your emotions. Email senders will try to convince you that they are from a reliable source, which is difficult for you to find out whether the email is genuine or not.

Here are some tips to help you avoid phishing.

Beware of unsolicited bulk email or emails from unknown sources. If a store that don’t usually send you emails suddenly contacted you again, it could be a phishing.

Pay attention to spelling errors in email. Cybercriminals often do not have marketing expertise, so a sloppy email may indicate that this is a phishing scam.

Does email identify your name? Criminals often don’t know your full name, so they often refer to you as Sir or Madam.

Do not access the strange links attached in email. It may seem like a good deal, but they can make you “cost” a huge price.

You should keep in mind that the sender’s address does not guarantee that the email is from the same person or organization signed in the email. If you notice something shady, you need to confirm it directly with the sender.

Shopping at a fake e-commerce website

Avoid fake e-commerce website on Cyber Monday

Criminals not only target customers but also to well known retailers (or e-commerce sites). If you entered credit card information on a fake website, you may be handing your bank account to cyber criminals.

Therefore, customers need to protect themselves when shopping online.

Here are some tips to help you protect yourself from websites controlled by hackers.

Try free tools to help you differentiate between dangerous and safe websites. Web of Trust can be taken as an example.

You should remember that even safe websites can be hacked. Therefore, you should consider using free malware blocking tools. NoScript is known as a free extension that helps prevent malicious code at checkout.

If you have to choose an method of online payment by debit or credit card, it will be much better to choose a credit card. You often get better protection in purchases and are more easily insured in case you become a victim of a scam.

Track your bank account carefully to promptly realize phishing. Turn on SMS notifications for your account so you can receive visual confirmation of purchases you make. And of course, if you notice any suspicious transactions, you should notify your bank immediately and block the card.