Top 6 Tips To Keep Online Scammers Away on Cyber Monday

Cyber Monday is today and every year more people do their holiday shopping online. IDentity Theft 911 consumers to protect themselves against online scams and identity theft while shopping online.

1. Shop on secure sites. They’ll have “https” in the address bar and a yellow padlock logo to the right of the Web browser address bar. Double-click on the lock to see a digital certificate of the website. Review these certificates on unfamiliar sites.
2. Never enter your Social Security number or passwords to email and bank accounts as part of the buying process with online retailers.
3. Be aware of phishing email scams that include website links advertising incredible deals. Don’t click on them. Type the link directly into your browser.
4. Use credit cards, not debit cards. Try to use credit cards with low limits to minimize the damage if a thief takes over the account. Or, use a “one-time” credit card number from payment processors such as PayPal.
5. Secure mobile phones used for shopping. Back them up regularly and enable security features such as power on password and inactivity time lock. Learn how to clear browser caches and, if available, enable data encryption and antivirus applications.
6. As always, install and update antivirus, anti-malware and firewall software on your computer. Update its operating system and Internet browser with the latest security patches.