Stay Safe and Secure During Cyber Monday

The holidays are here once again and cyber Monday continues to be a day that’s on everyone’s calendar. People are still doing most of their gift shopping online since it’s convenient. But bad actors are still lurking on the internet and are trying to take advantage of the heavy traffic online. It’s important to stay safe and take the appropriate precautions to protect your personal information, as well as your bank account.

To ensure that you’re safe this holiday season, you should follow these tips below when shopping online!

Use Strong Passwords. If you have to create an account to purchase a gift, make sure you’re still creating complex passwords. We know it’s annoying to have another login and password for a one time gift, but one bad password can open the door up to your personal info being compromised. If it’s not a website you will use often, check to see if they have a guest check out where you don’t have to create another login.

Shop from Known Websites. We all know places like Best Buy, Target, Amazon, Apple, etc. We know that purchases from those sites are more than likely legit. But be weary of ads for deals for websites that are unfamiliar to you. Make sure you double check that it’s a legitimate website and check the privacy policy for it.

Don’t Shop on a Public Wi-fi. If you’re in a coffee shop, and airport or a hotel, refrain from doing a lot of shopping there unless you have strong security on your device or have a VPN option. Most of the public wi-fis are not necessarily secure and can leave you open to hackers gaining your information.

Frequently Check Your Bank Accounts. After you’ve checked on your gifts off your list, make sure you are monitoring your bank accounts and credit cards. You’ll want to make sure there’s no fraudulent activity that shows up so that you can report it as soon as possible.

Shopping online for your loved ones should be safe and secure. Hopefully some of these tips will have you during the giving season!