Whether you hate to shop or are a full-blown shopaholic, there are some big advantages to shopping online.
When you want to avoid the busy shopping malls during the holidays, you have the biggest mall in the world right at your fingertips, and you don’t even have to leave the house.
On the other hand, when you can’t get to the mall to visit your favorite stores and look for deals, you can always log on and browse to your heart’s content.
However, there are some important steps you should take to make sure your online shopping experience is secure and successful.
1. Use Your Credit Card:
If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile you might assume that No. 1 is a typo. No, the word “DON’T” is not missing. As much as we’ve warned about the dangers of credit cards and the advantages of checks, the credit card is usually the safest payment option for online shopping.
That’s because you can dispute charges with your credit card company if what you ordered never shows up at your door, if it doesn’t work, or if there are errors with the payment. However, your credit card company will expect you to try and resolve the issue with the online seller first.
Plus, if someone somehow gets your credit card number to make unauthorized purchases, you’ll only be accountable for up to $50 because of protections attached to credit cards.
There are a handful of companies that will let you use personal checks, and it can be up to the seller on sites like eBay. However, you’ll most likely find that you will have to wait until after your check clears before what you purchased is even shipped.
2. Shop on Secure Websites:
There are a lot of different websites selling a lot of different stuff online. You shouldn’t necessarily have to stick to big-name stores, but you should make sure the website you’re using is secure.
Here’s what to look for:
- HTTPS: Look for this at the beginning of the web address in the URL bar of your browser. It means that particular web page is secure.
- Browser Padlock: Down on the bottom of most internet browsers, you should see a small lock image. It should appear whenever a website is asking you for personal information or when you’re on the shopping cart page.
- Security Logo: Endorsements from third party online security companies like Verisign and McAfee indicate the site is officially secure. But that doesn’t mean anybody couldn’t slap the logo on without approval. That’s why you should click on the logo to make sure it links back to a real certificate.
Check Advantage is certified by both Verisign and McAfee. So you can rest assured- when you order personal checks and business checks from us – your online shopping experience with us will be safe and secure.
3. Update Your Browser:
Sometimes those web browser updates seem to come along a little too frequently. But most of them are important. Many of them will help protect your computer from the latest viruses and hacking techniques.
Yes it may interrupt your online shopping and Facebook time, but it will keep you from being vulnerable to identity theft.
You’re entering extremely sensitive personal information when you purchase items over the internet, and you don’t want it falling into the wrong hands. That’s another reason why you should never enter your social security number online, and never have them printed on your personal checks.
4. Stay Off of Public Computers:
Avoid using computers at places like the library or any other place where there is internet access for public use. This is another way you could be putting yourself at risk for identity theft. Hackers see unsecured networks as easy targets for stealing personal information.
Many times computers are set up to save and remember information that you enter. You wouldn’t want someone on the public computer you just used to sit down and suddenly have access to your online accounts.
There are great conveniences and valuable deals to be found online. Just make sure you use some common sense when using the internet as your personal shopping mall!
Watch the video below for some more pros and cons of shopping online.
Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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