The holiday time is getting closer and so online purchases are completed far more and more often during these festive period. As it's been predicted by the analysts this year retail sales this year during the holidays period will exceed $94 bln., which is an absolute record. If you consider yourself as a modern customers, making purchases online is normal for you. So Payza updates this sort of customers with 5 tips that may keep you safe when shopping online during the festive period.
The thing is that recently in one of Forbes articles there was an update from 125 retailers saying online fraud attempts will increase by approximately 43% this year. That's a real difference, i should say compared to the last year. Still these stats should not raise waves of worries, on the contrary, merchants and retailers should be motivated to search for simple strategies that would minimize risks of shopping online. Here are the tips from Payza that may help retailers to make it all right and minimize risks and losses:
Check Transactions History Often
Instead of waiting for the monthly statement to come, Payza recommends from time to time to look through the history of your credit card, Payza account or bank account transactions. Make some short review once a week in December and January, the time when your transactions increase. If you keep waiting for the monthly statement its size will be extremely large and it will be harder to figure out any unverified sales. If you notice any kind of deal you can't remember of, immediately let your bank, credit card issuer or Payza know about it.
Watch out for Phishing
Fraudsters are totally aware the number of online purchases during holidays is much larger. Expect increasing number of e-mail phishing attempts, as all the criminals are trying to take advantage of the holiday fever. Stay away from phishing e-mails, saying about any sort of problem with the deal you made before in a popular online store, or e-mails saying of certain problems you may have with your bank or credit card. Be extremely cautious about any e-mails, which ask you to provide any financial information of yours or usernames to "solve" any possible problem with payments and online stores.
Make Shopping on Trusted Sites, Read Testimonials of those You Deal with for the First Time
If any type of deal seems to good to be true, it actually may be exactly like that. There are lots of websites, which claim to sell high class goods at reasonable prices. The majority of online stores are legitimate, though some happen to be not. Don't take risks and stay with the merchants you are actually familiar with or with those you used to deal with before. In case you found one, which is really important for you and you've never heard of it before - make your due diligence before making a transaction. It is especially important for online auctions, where sellers cannot be linked with the web site itself. Read reviews and sellers reviews. Stay away from fake reports and rely upon proven positive responses, published several months or even years ago.
Update Antivirus SoftWare and OS ASAP
Be sure to install all the latest updates for your antivirus and OS. This will guarantee your PC is protected from known malicious programs, spyware bots, which can be hidden inside the script of some online stores and infect Shopping Carts and Payment gateways. Make sure to use the latest known version of your browser as well.
Use Secured Ways of Payment, Check Security Certificates
Credit cards and such online payment ways as Payza are one of the most secured methods to make purchases online since they have integrated tools to prevent from screening and to protect your information. These ways of protection can be missing when you make purchases via direct money transfer or personal checks. It is strongly recommended to make purchases from the websites with the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and HTTPS (where "S" means secured) protocols enabled. If enabled you should be able to see the "lock" icon in the address bar, clicking which you should see the security certificate for the website. In case no certificate is displayer, more likely you are browsing some fraudulent site, hence you should leave immediately.
