As Twin Cities residents brave the cold weather and head to the mall, many holiday shoppers are staying indoors and making their purchases online. Before you start or finish your gift shopping for the holidays, remember these few basic tips for safe online shopping:
- Install reputable anti-virus software - Make sure your computer has active and up-to-date anti-virus software that will help detect and remove viruses that could potentially steal your identity when you use a bank or credit card online. To make it easy, be sure the software is set to run automatic updates so you won’t have to remember to do a virus scan on your own. Internet providers such as Comcast will often offer security software as part of their service at no additional charge.
- “S” means secure – When shopping online, be sure you see https (the “s” stands for secure) at the beginning of the URL for any page where you plan to enter financial information.
- Look for the lock – When you’re online, look for the lock icon that is normally located at the bottom of the screen or in the window of your Web browser. A secure site will allow you to click on the lock icon to see details of the site’s security. However, be cautious because there are fraudulent Web sites that will have an imitation lock icon.
- Secure your wireless network – When using a wireless network, always secure it with a password to make sure others cannot access your personal information. If you live in an apartment, condo or a densely populated neighborhood, you are especially vulnerable so make sure you password protect your personal network.
- Choose a secure password – While a simple password may be easy to remember, a less complex password is also easy for an online thief to guess. Choose a password that combines different numbers, letters and symbols and the longer the password, the better. Avoid using the same password for more than one account.