How To Stay Safe When Shopping Online [Safest Way 2023]

Do you want to know the best ways possible to stay safe when shopping online? Here, in this article, we have some tips and tricks to help you stay safe when shopping online!

Is it secure to shop online? Yes, generally speaking! With choices for more secure payment methods and fraud monitoring, online shopping has been significantly safer in recent years.

Internet sales have increased significantly during Covid, almost solely as a result of the increased physical security provided by staying indoors.

These are just 10 tips to stay safe when shopping online. Keep reading to know more details about these 10 tricks as well as know more tips to stay safe when shopping online!

Why Is It Important To Stay Safe When Shopping Online?

Because it provides you with management over your identity and personal data, is crucial to boost your privacy. If you don’t have that control, anyone with the means and the will can use your identity to further their interests, such as selling you a more expensive trip or robbing you of your savings.

What you publish on social media, what you talk about in the comments area of websites, and the way you safeguard your data also impact the people nearest to you, whether those are family, friends, or colleagues.

Because of this, anything you do to protect your personal privacy benefits other people as well.

Tips To Stay Safe When Shopping Online

Here are the best ways to stay safe when shopping online, read thoroughly to know what works best for you. You can employ more ways to stay safe when shopping online.

1. Use a VPN

Your internet traffic will be forwarded over a secure tunnel by a VPN. Using a VPN for online shopping may enable you to make financial savings in addition to security.

As it turns out, different areas may have different costs for online goods and services. This is one of the best ways to stay safe when shopping online!

2. Use online payment services

Use a secure payment gateway, such as PayPal, Stripe, or Venmo, where one is available. Using your credit card to link to an online payment provider rather than your debit card adds another layer of protection against money access. If you are looking for ways to stay safe when shopping online, this one is sure to work!

3. Create strong passwords

Make careful to utilize two-factor authentication and strong, original passwords when setting up online accounts.

Do everything in your power to prevent unauthorized access to your account. You can surely stay safe when shopping online if you have strong passwords!

4. Check site security

Look for SSL encryption while visiting a retailer’s website. To do this, see whether the website address begins with https rather than http and if the URL has a padlock icon to the left of it in the address bar of your browser.

Remember that https encryption functions whether or not you are connected to a VPN. But, using a VPN and https encryption together will help to stay safe when shopping online.

5. Be cautious of deceitful deals

If an offer seems too good to be true, it most likely is. A product is likely a fake if it is markedly less expensive than similar items on other websites.

Make sure to check other sites with similar products if you want to ways to stay safe when shopping online!

6. Stay protected on public Wi-Fi

Without a VPN, making purchases over public Wi-Fi networks increases the likelihood that your traffic will be snooped on.

Avoid internet purchasing in locations like hotels, airports, public hotspots, buses, and cafés if you don’t have a VPN. This will help you stay safe when shopping online!

7. Keep track of your statements

You can receive a notification as soon as a payment is made, whether it is real or not, by turning on automatic payment alerts in your online banking or payment services. Keeping a track of your statements will help you to stay safe when shopping online.

8. Protect your personal information

Take extra care while deciding what details to provide on a website. Provide only the very minimal information necessary to complete a transaction if you’re unsure. Be wary of strange phone calls or email requests requesting you to confirm account details.

Retailers will never ask you for personal information related to your account, such as your passwords or date of birth, out of concern for your safety.

9. Stick to trusted retailers

Always do your research before making a purchase on a website. Starting out right is to stick with merchants that you are familiar with.

What if you’re making a purchase from a brand-new online retailer? Investigate the company’s reputation by reading customer reviews on Trustpilot, Yelp, and Google.

10. Verify if retailers take credit cards

As they are supported by banks and other financial organizations and are typically approved by the large majority of online shops, credit cards are a trusted option for online buying. In the event of fraud, it is one of the simplest payment ways to halt.

11. Put in the URL directly into the address bar

If you receive emails about online specials, don’t click on the links in the emails; instead, go to the websites of the specific retailers by typing their URLs into the address bar of your browser. By doing so, you can tell if the advertised deal is real and safeguard yourself from phony links.

12. Exercise caution when shopping from your phone

If at all possible, use a retailer’s official app to make purchases rather than a mobile browser. Links from URL reducing providers (like Bitly or Google URL Shortener) should be used with particular caution because it is not known where they will lead.

13. Look up reviews Online

You should still check out reputable review sites like Trustpilot even though there have been more instances of fraudulent reviews for online retailers. Watch out for evaluations that are excessively similar to one another or that use excessive verbiage.

14. Don’t be afraid to complain

Don’t be afraid to protest vehemently if the item you ordered falls short of the retailer’s description, is damaged, or never even arrives.

Send a complaint to a state (or federal) oversight organization, the website, the retailer, or the reseller. After all, you did pay for your order!

15. Use a dedicated email address

Spam can be decreased by setting up a unique email account just for online buying. Also, this offers the benefit of separating all of your online shopping activity from your primary email account. As an alternative, you can hide your primary address by using anonymous email forwarders.

16. Install an antivirus or anti-malware software

By downloading and installing antivirus software on your devices, you can defend yourself against any security threats to your online purchasing activities. You can also install browser add-ons and extensions from several trustworthy antivirus programs.

17. Read the Terms and Conditions

Never forget to read the terms and conditions before making any online purchases. For instance, check the legitimacy of a business before buying gift cards.

This can make it more likely that your receiver will be able to use the card without encountering any needless obstacles.

18. Always log Out after online shopping

After you’ve finished your online shopping, be sure to log out of all of your accounts, unless your device is used solely by you and you alone.

19. Use a virtual credit card

Credit or debit cards that are virtual, or transitory, are a terrific method to increase the security of your online transactions.

Only a few credit card companies will offer temporary card numbers based on your current card. They can then be used for particular or irregular purchases.

20. Research physical addresses and phone numbers

Check a company’s website to see if it lists verified addresses or phone numbers, if at all possible. A quick approach to determine whether an address is legitimate is to look it up on Google Maps.

To be fair, it is important to point out that major online platforms like Amazon allow third-party resellers as well, and Amazon will manage any resulting disputes.

What Are Some Advantages Of Shopping Online?

Some of the advantages of shopping online are:

1. Time-saving, and non-exhausting.
2. Online shopping is very convenient, you can get whatever you want to be delivered with just a few taps o your fingers.
3. A large variety is available to the person shopping.
4. Online, contactless payments have become the norm and hence are one o the most advantageous features of shopping online!

What Are The Risks Of Online Shopping?

Online buying entails a number of concerns, including the potential for tracking or monitoring, which can surprise unwary customers.

One of the most frequent problems is probably identity theft, which is made possible by insecure websites that allow for the theft of your personal information.

Stolen Information and Data

Every customer’s financial and personal data could be stolen in the event of a breach at an online store and sold there. This might then result in identity theft or the theft of credit cards.

Fake Applications

Use only official apps created by internet retailers, if possible. Make sure you download an app from a link on a retailer’s official website or look up reviews on Google Play or the Apple App Store to find out whether it is genuine.

Theft of identity

This can take the shape of phishing emails intended to steal your personal information to hackers taking the payment and personal information of customers.

If your information has been compromised, it will be considerably simpler for someone to use your identity online. Keep an eye out for any strange transactions that might have been done in your name by checking your statements and email notifications.

FAQs

Conclusion

ExpressVPN is our top recommendation for staying safe when shopping online using a VPN. In addition to robust security features like an automated kill switch and specialized P2P servers, this VPN provides additional functions as well.

Now you know how to stay safe when shopping online. You can easily employ these tips in your daily life and stay safe when shopping online!

Please check the FAQ section for some commonly asked questions!