Web shopping activity continues to increase from year to year. We are so often spoiled with a wide variety of goods ranging from clothing to household appliances, all of which can now be delivered to our doorstep through simple online transactions.
We have to be aware though, that online transactions are not entirely safe. Through a survey from iprice Group, among the 26 countries in the world, the Philippines is the country with the most victims of online fraud. Up to a total of 26% of online consumers have lost money due to fraud in cyberspace.
Fraud stories such as goods that never arrive, illicit payments via credit cards to the loss of thousands and millions of pesos could happen if we are not careful in our online dealings and neglect to protect ourselves from cyberhackers.
Here are 5 tips to avoid scams online:
- Use only safe shopping sites
Try to shop on the sites with the address ‘https: //’ instead of ‘http: //’. The letter “s” means that sites are using a secured server and will protect your personal information from hackers.
According to David Chmelař, CEO of iprice Group, you can check the reviews of previous customers, and ask a friend or colleague who has previously shopped at that site, to ensure that it is a trusted one.
- Save transaction evidence
Proof of electronic payment such as the confirmation email, SMS, and other documents, can help to record and track the history of your transaction. They can also be used as strong evidence if there is a dispute with the seller in the future.
On the next page: protecting your credit card
- Protect Your Credit Card
Credit card hacks can be prevented and stopped as soon as possible after the transaction has taken place. Here are some ways to protect your credit card:
- Set SMS notifications on a credit card, so you get news of any transactions done. If there is a suspicious transaction, you may contact the bank’s Customer Service to ask for confirmation and block transactions with any hacking indications.
- Use One-Time Password (OTP), which is the password that will be sent to a personal mobile phone after an online transaction. OTP provides a layer of security to your credit card.
- Limit the number of transactions on your credit card so that transactions cannot be processed when it reaches a certain threshold.
- Check your credit card statement. Is there a transaction that you did not make but is listed in the monthly report? If yes, then contact Customer Service immediately.
- Avoid using Wifi when accessing personal info
While doing online shopping or bank transactions, avoid using free Wifi because it may well open opportunities for other people to access your private data.
- Use a smart and powerful password
It is important to have a password that is strong because a password associated with yourself like your birthday, can be easily guessed by the people who know you or even by hackers. Hackers generally guess and match your personal records word for word and letter by letter. Make sure you use numbers, symbols, uppercase, and lowercase letters.
Read: “Husband” one of the most commonly used words online by women, but word “wife” is hardly used
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