Shopping online is safe if you stick to a few habits: buy from sites you recognize, use strong passwords, pay with a credit card, hand over as little personal info as possible, and stay off public WiFi. Do those five things and a scammer has very little to work with.
More people buy online every year. In 2020, more than 2 billion people bought a product or service on the web, some for convenience and some to avoid stores during the pandemic. Retail sites have gotten more secure right along with that growth. But not every site plays by the same rules, and hackers are still out there. Here's how to keep your information yours this holiday season.
Stick to sites you already know
You have thousands of places to buy almost anything, and that's the problem. The safest bet is a retailer you recognize: Amazon, Walmart, the big names you'd shop at without thinking twice. Search for a product and you'll see prices that look unbelievable. They usually are. A site you've never heard of selling at a fraction of the going rate is the oldest trap online. If the deal seems too good to be true, walk away.
Check the connection before you type in a card number. Look for the lock icon in the address bar, and make sure the address starts with "https" and not "http." That "s" means the site encrypts what you send it, including your card details and passwords. An unsecured site leaves all of that exposed.
Make your passwords hard to guess
A weak password is the easiest way for someone to get into your accounts. Mix uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters, and make it long. Skip anything a stranger could guess: common words, your name, your birthday. Those crack fast.
Worried you won't remember a password like that? You shouldn't have to. A password manager creates long, random passwords and stores them safely, so every account gets a strong, unique one and you never have to memorize a single character.
Watch your statements and pay with credit
Check your statements regularly, and check them more often during shopping season. It's how you catch an overcharge or a purchase you didn't make before it gets worse. Pay with a credit card, not a debit card. If someone steals debit details, they're spending straight out of your bank account. Most credit cards build in fraud protection, so you're not on the hook for charges you didn't make.
Give up as little personal info as possible
Be suspicious of a new site that asks for personal details before you've even checked out. No retailer needs your Social Security number unless you're applying for a credit card with them. Watch for the ones asking for your birthday too. Paired with a card number, that kind of detail is exactly what a hacker uses to do real damage.
Don't shop on public WiFi
Buying something over coffee at a café feels harmless, but public WiFi usually isn't secure. Type your card number into it and you're handing a nearby hacker an easy way in. Bookmark the item and finish the purchase once you're home on your own connection.
Online shopping can be every bit as safe as buying in a store, as long as you take a few precautions. Run through these before you enter a card number or any personal information, and you can shop without giving it another thought.