Internet, with growing trend becomes one of the basic needs. Shopping over internet somehow becomes complementary and now e-commerce rules the market. You may need not to tell about online shopping, it’s something you frequently do. Just stick to the following tips.
1. Go for HTTPS
If you wish to shop online always look for “https://” instead of “http://” or padlock icon on address bar or down the window in extreme right (varying as per different browsers).
This is simply the enhanced security .HTTPS is a protocol which encrypts the data between you and the website, so for example when you send your password nobody should be able to decrypt it, while HTTP is plain text and it’s not secure. The `S` in HTTPS stands for “secure” that is reliable for monetary transaction and other secure communication.
2. Go for well-known NAMES.
Shopping online is a hustle- free and convenient way of getting things right at your doorstep. Just to keep your experience better and not bitter, always sticks to bigger and well-known names (like amazon, flipkart etc.) rather than just using search engines and end up on some random fake e-store claiming a price too low to be a genuine deal(use your instincts).
3. Go for Mobile Apps.
Using mobile apps have their own pros and cons. But for shopping online, it’s a better choice. You just need to get the app by trusted merchants (amazon, flipkart etc) and from trusted sites such as Google play store and iTunes.
Always use protected Wi-Fi or cellular data.
4. Go for Credit Card or Electronic Payment Systems (like PayPal).
Using credit card gives you additional 1 month (generally 30 to 45 days) time to pay as well as review your online transactions. I.e. if a fraudulent transaction is noticed you can report it to bank as soon as possible. Some banks provide zero liability of transaction done through credit cards (depending up on credit card).
On the other hand payments processing services like PayPal give you provision to make transaction without revealing your credit card or bank account information to the merchant.
PayPal provide additional “Buyer Protection”.
If an eligible item is purchased online, on eBay or elsewhere, doesn`t arrive or doesn`t match the seller`s description, They`ll reimburse you for the full amount of the item plus shipping costs, as long as the eligibility requirements are met. –Source: https://www.paypal.com/in/webapps/mpp/paypal-safety-and-security
5. Never trust open Wi-Fi or Public Terminals for online transaction.
You should never use an open Wi-Fi for any online transaction as well as any other personal data sharing.
As the name explains, the open nature of the network allows for snooping (to pry into the private affairs of others, here by electronic means). It could be full of compromised machine or the complete network could be a setup by attacker.
Public Terminals doesn`t looks much different as they may be already compromised, i.e. fully equipped with key loggers or other malicious programs intended to get your information.
