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Tips for Safe Online Holiday Shopping

Webroot Spy News
November 2007

Have you noticed? Holiday shopping is increasingly becoming online shopping. It's so convenient and fast, plus it's often less expensive. According to our Holiday Shopping survey, a whopping 87.7 percent of us plan to buy some of our holiday purchases online this year. In addition, the percentage of total holiday shopping that individuals plan to do this year is on the rise. Of users surveyed, close to 40 percent indicate they plan to do more than half of their holiday shopping online this year, over a 10 percent increase compared to last year. Clearly, Internet shopping is the wave of the future and here to stay.

In this newsletter, you'll find helpful tips to make online shopping safer for you and your family.

Enjoy the season. Shop safe!

Online Shopping Tips

5 Ways To Increase Safety While Shopping Online

1. Shop from Reliable Retailers. It's wise to do business with companies you already know and trust. If the retailer is unfamiliar, look up information on the company with the Better Business Bureau or the Office of the State Attorney General in the state where the seller is located.

2. Use a Credit Card, Not a Debit Card Online. Credit cards limit your liability for unauthorized charges to $50. You're not assured this protection with a debit card.

3. Ask about Single Use Credit Cards. Some credit card companies use a new technology that allows them to issue a single use credit card number for online purchases. With this number, you avoid having to use your real credit card number online, so security isn't jeopardized.

4. Avoid Buying On Public Computers. A hacker or thief can easily put a keylogger on a public computer that allows him or her to know everything you've typed - including your credit card numbers and passwords. Stay away from public access computers when shopping!

5. Don't Save Your Credit Card Numbers Online. Many reputable sites give you the option to save credit card numbers online to make future purchases easy. However, if the company's database is ever successfully hacked, your information could be exposed. It's safer to re-enter your numbers with each transaction.

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