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The Wonder of Tech is honored to welcome guest author Praveen Rajarao!
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E-Commerce is the art of buying and selling goods and services online. Today you can purchase anything and everything online including cars, homes, insurance, computers, groceries etc. With the increase in the number of sales online (especially in US), agencies have been established to monitor and conduct surveys about online fraud.
The holiday season is fast approaching and nearly everyone is looking for quick deals online to save some money with their purchases. Have you ever been scared to purchase online? Would you consider buying more if you were 100% sure that the process is secure? According to a survey conducted by the National Cyber Security Alliance and Symantec last year, 63% of those surveyed said that they did not complete an online purchase due to security concerns. StaySafeOnline.org
There are numerous websites that promise a safe and clean buying process, without hassle, and that personal information entered will be kept safe. These websites have logos for “VeriSign Trusted” or “Entrust” similar to the ones below:
These logos intended to show that websites are legitimate, legal and valid e-businesses.
Here are some additional tips that you can use to help ensure security and safety for your online shopping:
1. Have you checked your Internet Browser? – With the various browsers available such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla FireFox and Apple Safari, there is a common feature available in all of them – Security Standards (Secure Sockets Layer or SSL). These standards are responsible for the encryption of all the personal and financial data that you send over the Internet during your purchase. Websites that have a web address starting with “https” or sites that display one of the logos above have taken extra measures to ensure your safety. In addition to these measures, Internet browsers display a warning or a pop-up message saying information is being sent to a specific vendor or website whose security certificate has expired.
2. Always shop with known websites or companies – Personally, my first website of preference for online purchases is Amazon. You always need to go with renowned and well established companies for any online transactions. If you have even the slightest doubt, I would recommend you ask them for their policies, shipping charges, returns, and re-stocking fees. You can always confirm a telephone number and contact address to be on the safer side.
3. Try to reveal as little personal information as possible – Sometimes we tend to give away our credit card numbers, passwords and social security numbers over the phone to anyone who tells us that they are banking agents or online supervisors for the merchant. One should take extreme precaution before providing any such key information over phone or web to unknown recipients.
4. Password Protection – Do not use the same password in every website that requires you to register. If you have a password that you use for your personal mailbox, keep it separate from the one that you use to register for Amazon or any other online merchant.
4. Use a Secured Credit Card – Some of the major credit card companies now offer security on all the purchases that you make using your credit card, most of these online transactions are also governed and protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA). Also if you lose your card and there is a misuse of it by any other party, you are liable only for the first $50, making it safe from excess liability under the FCBA.
5. Manage your cookies while surfing – Cookies allow you to store information while using websites, they save your username and password when you visit a website. In addition to that, it can also help the website owner to track who is visiting the website, the date and time of the visit and more. It may harm your privacy if any online hacker is tracking you. Therefore, you can delete cookies in your computer to protect your privacy. (Learn how to delete your cookies Here.)
These are some tips for shoppers to keep you protected from online scams and fake deals going on worldwide. Be careful when you shop online and trust your instincts. Make sure that when you shop online that you are safe, not scammed.
What steps do you take when you shop online? Do you feel secure shopping online? Let us know in the Comments section below!
About Praveen Rajarao – Praveen Rajarao blogs on his website – http://www.dailymorningcoffee.com. His topics range from life to blogging to technology and how-to guides. Daily Morning Coffee is also accepting Guest Posts from Professional Bloggers at this time, take a look at “Write For DMC” page for more details on the same. Follow Praveen on Twitter: http://twitter.com/brpraveen.
Image by Mik Scheper
verisign is one of the oldest and the most trusted brand. If you are looking at purchasing online that is something that i always look for. else i dont purchase. Good work detailing an important aspect for people who are shopping online.
Eddie – I agree with Verisign being a reliable source of confirmation for any online shopper. Thanks for leaving a comment.
Hi Eddie, yes, Praveen did an excellent job with this article. Online shopping can be challenging so it’s important to know which sites you can trust.
Hi Carolyn,
Interesting! I bought shares online this morning. There was a little panic relating to a British Bank and the share price dropped! The panic will probably be over tomorrow.
I gave you a link in today’s blog being as it was your idea! 🙂
I’m testing the link. I did the Neodigital Art blog yesterday.
Hi Mike, thank you kindly for the link. 🙂 investors are skittish these days with the Greek bailout situation. If you can figure out a way to make money in these uncertain times, you could hit the jackpot. But I’m thinking even if you did, you would still be thrifty. 😉
used to be weary about shopping online – everyone should be – until I was taught the main security tips you listed in your post. There will always be security flaws and such but I have – luckily – not been negatively effected by security breeches or problems whilst shopping online.
Again, great stuff! 🙂
Gabriella – Good to know that you have never faced any online-security breach until now. It is always good to be cautious and prevent it rather than facing the wrath later. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
Thanks, Gabriella, The Wonder of Tech is very fortunate to have Praveen as a guest author!
You’re right, staying safe is important and by following these tips, people can be more secure in their online shopping.. Thanks for your comment, Gabriella. 🙂
These were really helpful tips! Thanks so much.
Most of the online shopping that I do is on eBay. A different beast altogether – you could write an article just about security/safety/reliability/reputation on eBay…or perhaps you have already?
Hi Ruth, Praveen is certainly right about this, eBay secure shopping would make a great topic. Thanks for suggesting it!
The crux of eBay shopping is to buy from a trusted buyer. Now you can search for items listed by Top-rated sellers. I have never had a purchase go wrong when I buy from a Top-rated seller. There is a reason they have earned that badge. I am willing to pay a little more to buy an item from them because I know I can trust them!
Ruth – Thanks for the suggestion, I think that would make a wonderful topic for all us online-shopping-savvy people. eBay has evolved into a much more secure site over the days and become a brand name just like amazon. I will surely keep this in mind when I write my next.
Well this is kinda related to a poll you posted earlier on your blog related to online shopping..
I am not a big fan of online shopping. And security issue concerns me the most. glad you’ve put a post about it on your blog.
Btw you’ve talked about sharing personal info on phone. Yes one should really be cautious about sharing his/her info on phone as well as on an online form, as scammers widely use email because of its vulnerability. And it is not difficult to retrieve someone’s information if a scammer shows itself to be a trusted source.
Faran – Thanks for leaving back a comment, and am glad you liked the article. Hope readers find these as precautionary measures before continuing their online transactions.
Hi Faran, Yes, the poll results showed many readers like to shop online which is why Praveen’s article is very useful for The Wonder of Tech.
You’re right, when a credit card company calls saying there has been fraud on my card and wants me to verify my details, I always refuse to give the details and call the number on the back of the card instead. It takes a little more time, but it’s important to be safe!
If you see the seals, click them to make sure they link to the organization that created them. Some unscrupulous merchants will put these logos on their websites without permission.
Ewa – You are absolutely right, these images are not just pictures that anyone can upload to their sites. It has to be actual links where readers can click and verify the validity of the site. Thanks for bringing this up.
Excellent point, Ewa. Praveen is right, these images are links that will take you to the sites so you can verify the merchants. If the image isn’t a link then you shouldn’t trust the site.
Carolyn,
To add some information to it, McAfee also has a trust-mark product named McAfee Secure, which scans the site in-depth and report possible vulnerability present. This Trust mark like others, can also be a part of the ‘online shopping checklist’.
FYI :: I am part of this product @McAfee
Thanks
Shwetabh
Hello Shwetabh, Thanks for adding this valuable information. You’re right, McAfee Secure is another site that endorses the safety of shopping websites.
Shwetabh – It is always good when comments include “value additions” to the post, thanks for including this in the list, hopefully other readers will find it useful and switch over to using McAfee.
Also it is good to know that you are part of the McAfee team, hope you keep improving the product.
Very interesting post, and a great overview of an important topic.
I know that I should be concerned about security when it comes to shopping online, but I still keep buying stuff all the time and from all types of websites, no matter if they have badges from verisign or anyone else. I just do it without thinking about.
Hi Jens, I can understand how you can purchase without thinking about security. If you’ve never been burned and feel secure that you can rely upon your credit card company to cover any losses, then you have no need to be concerned. But if you ever do encounter a scam website (and I truly hope you don’t!), you will probably be more aware of security concerns.
Have a great weekend, Jens!
Jens – I am sure that online shopping can be instantaneous and gives you very little time to review your plans for the purchase. At the same time, I would suggest that you need to put your thoughts on paper and get organized before committing to any purchases.
If there is a time constraint that you need to place an order within the next few minutes, I would ask you to ignore the deal since there might be something spooky.
Happy Shopping!!
Hi Carolyn,
My first visit to your blog! I came here via Adrienne Smiths blog after reading one of your comments.
I have to say I have had a good experience with shopping online and I always look for the logo’s like Verisign if they are not there I don’t buy! Plus I always click the logo’s to make sure they are genuine! 😉
This a very good post Carolyn with good sound content remindng us all of the saftey precautions we should be taking.
Even today with all the security thats in place we still hear of “nightmare” stories where people have suffered.
Thanks for sharing this information Carolyn…
Take care, catch up soon
Ian
Hi Ian, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Yes, Praveen did a great job explaining online security with shopping. You’re very wise not only to look for the VeriSign icon, but to click through it to make sure the site is secure.
I hope you come back to The Wonder of Tech and visit soon!
Hi Ian – I am glad you are playing it safe when it comes to online shopping. There are very less of us who actually click through the logo to confirm the validity of the certificate.
Glad you liked the post though it was mostly known facts for you.
Hi,
great pointers!
I’ve always been wary on the internet, because I doubt people even when I can see their eyes, but online it is even worse. There are so many ways someone can scam us that we need to be aware of the security measures we should and can take in every situation. Don’t get me wrong, I am truly grateful I was born at a time when internet exists in such a way that you can shop, work, spend your free-time and even socialize on it, but I am being careful. You’ve already said everything about security issues when shopping. I’d like to add that I am working online and have a few employees. This is also a dodgy situation from a security point of view, because you have to make a transaction of money and services with basically no legal supervision, but there are also ways to solve this problem. Maybe you’d like to write a post about this? I am using a particular employee monitor software (you can click on the link to see it) that, as the name says, monitors the work of your employees with several methods, so you could be sure they won’t take your money and leave you without the service you paid for. This issue is affecting more and more people nowadays, so I think we should inform each other about it.
Have a great day!
Leonard
Leonard – Thanks for leaving your comment and I am always excited to see any additional info to a post of mine.
I am sure you need to be extra careful when managing several employees and having access to internet and dealing with credits and transactions.
Generally everyone tends to be a little less careful when working on behalf of a company, since there is little risk involved, so the onus is upon guys like you who need to be take these extra steps to ensure everything is working as expected.
I will surely look into the tool you have suggested and get in touch with you if i have any suggestions or questions. Thanks for making us know of a tool like this, will surely help all the readers.
Thanks for the trackback, Praveen!
Thanks for the shoutout, Ruth! 🙂