More and more people are avoiding the stress of shopping in malls and brick-and-mortar stores. People find online shopping very comfortable these days as they can order anything via the Internet from their living room. Online shopping is convenient and for most of us, it is hard to imagine life without it. With mobile phones or laptops, users can choose and make payments to order anything from any corner of the world.
Shopping on the Internet is enjoying increasing popularity, but it also carries risks that can quickly spoil the joy of shopping. If you are too careless about this, you have to expect nasty surprises. Mishaps in online shopping can quickly spoil the pleasure. Late deliveries, difficulties with exchanges, or supposedly serious offers that turn out to be a trap after ordering, top the complaint lists. In order to avoid such nasty surprises, we have put together valuable tips for safe online shopping.
Distinguish Fraudulent Shops
Not all fraudulent online shops can be identified by incorrect texts and the lack of general terms and conditions. Therefore, it is recommended to look for the name of the online shop on the Internet in order to view the experiences of other customers.
Another important indicator of a trusted online shop is a seal of approval. Clicking on such a seal should lead to the website of the respective certification company. Each region or each country has a different seal of approvals so, you need to check if the online shop you are trying is trusted or not.
Use the VPN service
Many users depend on public Wi-Fi as they are very convenient and render access to the internet without relying on cellular data. Such hotspots are particularly popular on vacation. However, these public WLAN connections can be unsafe while shopping online or carrying out any banking transaction. Because such networks are often insufficient or not encrypted at all. So, that cyber attackers can access data and payment information relatively easily.
The solution to this is to use virtual private network software. This creates an encrypted connection to the server of the VPN provider, which secures all of your data traffic and thus protects your data from third parties. Some VPN providers also allow you to use a foreign IP address which can result in online stores displaying cheaper prices.
Safe Payment Method
Choose a secure payment method. So, the first thing is to check what payment options are available at the online shopping website. Paying in advance cannot get you in trouble when you shop at a trusted online shop, but while trying the new online shop you need to think twice. If any online shop limits you to shop with some particular payment methods then, it may not be secure. These days, online vape stores and even newly established online shops offer multiple safe payment methods, but you need to check them beforehand.
Strong Password
Of course, you should also make sure to use strong passwords. And never use the same or similar passwords in several online shops. A strong password should not be easy to guess, use any existing words, consist of at least ten characters, contain upper- and lower-case letters, digits, and special characters. And if you store your password somewhere on your phone then make sure that it is not accessible by others.