Looking for a good deal? Check out our Cyber Monday Shopping Safety and Security Tips before sitting down to do any shopping.
If Black Friday shopping is so not your thing — but you still love a good deal — then the odds are pretty good that you’re planting yourself in front of your computer on Cyber Monday with the last of that pumpkin pie.
Cybersecurity is no joke.
Forbes reported that during the first six months of 2019, more than 3,800 publicly disclosed breaches were reported, compromising more than four billion records. A whopping 3.2 billion of those records were exposed by just eight breaches. As for the exposed data itself, they noted that email addresses (contained in 70% of breaches) and passwords (65%) were at the top of the heap.
That’s up 54% from 2018, so shop carefully out there.
Safety and Security Tips for Cyber Monday Shopping
How to Protect Yourself Online on Cyber Monday
While online safety and security is something you should practice every single day, now seems like as good a time as any to cover a few tips for keeping you, your identity, and your money safe this holiday shopping season.
- Stick to retailers you trust and have shopped online with before.
- Be on the lookout for “too good to be true” deals. Those cute $25 Adidas you found on Amazon? They may be Addidass.
- If you haven’t shopped with a retailer before, check customer reviews.
- Don’t use public Wi-Fi to make purchases online. If you really must, use a VPN to keep hackers off your back.
- Make sure that the URL starts with “https” and not “http.” Remember, that extra “s” means the site is safer and more secure.
- As with Black Friday shopping, use one credit card for all your Cyber Monday purchases. That way, if your data is breached, you only need to worry about one credit card.
- Consider using Apple Pay or orther mobile payment system
- Do not use your bank’s debit card. Just don’t do it. It’s easier to spot suspicious activity on your credit card, and credit card companies are generally really good at identifying and correcting fraudulent charges.
- Never trust, always verify. Your inbox is probably popping with Cyber Monday offers. Most are legit, surely, but some may only look legit. Phishing attempts are common this time of year, so whenever possible, use your browser to navigate directly to the website instead of following a link in an email.
- We know you know this. And you may ignore us. But mix up your passwords! Or, even better, sign up for a password manager like Keeper, LastPass or 1Password to create and manage truly unique passcodes.
- Take things a step further and invest in an identity theft protection monitoring service.
Copyright 2019
LARGO Consulting Services, LLC is committed to providing safe and secure environments where you live, work, study, play, and SHOP. For more information about LARGO Secure Schools, Vizion20XX, or Your Security Advisor, please contact LARGO Consulting Services, LLC online or call 833-LARGOCS. We also invite you to connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.