Online shopping risk
Because online shopping is so popular, hackers have been setting up fake e-commerce sites all over the place. They lure people in with great deals and rock-bottom prices. What you get if you fall for it is either a product of very low quality — that looks nothing like the photos promised — or a big fat nothing. What the hackers get out of it is much more valuable: your email address, phone number, payment information, and, if you created a profile on their page, your password.
Before you shop online, here are few things to keep in mind:
- Shop at trusted outlets.
- Don’t give out too much information.
- Do your research on new online stores.
- Use safe payment options such as PayPal.
- Check the web page’s security.
Check out more security tips for online shopping here: https://www.awarego.com/cyber-secure-online-shopping/
The information you give out on fake e-commerce sites can be used to send you phishing emails in the name of your local postal services that claim you need to pay additional fees. They can siphon money from your credit card, usually low amounts that you won’t question. And they could use your login information to breach other online accounts if you reused your password.