Not sharing personal data when you are connected to a public network is essential for safe online shopping
(MEXICO – TYT).- Over the years, buying online or over the internet has become one of the most used tools on a day-to-day basis.
To promote the safe and positive use of technology, especially among children and young people, Safe Internet Day is celebrated worldwide on February 8th, an initiative to help everyone improve Internet habits and do so in a more responsible, respectful and critical way.
But, are people responsible when buying online? Do you read carefully that the online store where you want to buy the product is safe and reliable?
A number of conditions must be met to ensure user safety. For this reason, sites such as Falabella and Linio indicated to all users the security measures to take into account when buying online:
- Buy online from recognized and reputable websites.
- Always consult the shipping conditions of the company’s products.
- Never send photos or credit card information by text message or email.
- Enter the number or other information of the card only once the purchase has been initiated.
- Avoid offers that seem ‘too good to be true’ and even more, when they come from unknown companies.
- If the computer is not protected against malware, financial information and passwords are at risk of being stolen.
- Do not share personal data (DNI, card number, address, among other data) when connected to public internet networks.
- Last but not least, before entering personal or credit card information on a website, check that the web address on the page appears with a closed padlock or begins with ‘https:’ instead of ‘http :’. This ‘s’ and the padlock tell you that the site is secure and encrypted to protect your information.
There are cybercriminals who take advantage of the proliferation of online stores and the ignorance of many new online shoppers to steal both money and data.
And this is one of the points that today’s young people have to emphasize, because they start at an early age in this type of practice without thinking about all the dangers that can hide behind the practice.
Other recommendations for a safe online purchase
1. What information is needed to buy online
If a user requests personal information such as parents’ names, place of birth or marital status when making a purchase, then it is most likely that they are collecting information to be able to sell to companies that manufacture products that are approved by the high segment.
Commercial or direct sales are misleading to users. To buy online safely, simply indicate your name and surname, the postal address where the order should go and the bank details to make the purchase.
In addition, you need to know what you are buying and whether the personal data they ask for is necessary.
2. Avoid phishing using common sense
Every day that passes, ads invade emails in the form of landing pages and display ads on different web pages, despite being targeted to lists or having anti-spam systems.
Many of these ads, however, are not real and by clicking on them it is possible to fall into a scam or theft of bank details by believing that you are buying something that will never actually arrive. It is very important to stay alert at all times to shop online safely.
Throughout the year, there are cyber criminals or, in this case, phishers who constantly send landing pages with incredible offers that when clicked, transport the user to a web page that can appear to be correct thanks to the careful design.
In them they get used to asking for bank details to make a purchase that does not exist. As mentioned above, you need to be very careful about ‘perfect and cheap’ deals.
3. Review card movements
Once the online purchase has been made, it is necessary to check immediately if all the charges on the account are known and correct. In this way the user ensures that the site is reliable for future purchases.
In spite of everything, it is important for the user to understand that, sometimes, the eCommerce that is a priori safe and trustworthy, can be hacked by third parties and not be known by the online store itself.
TYT Newsroom
