It’s that time of year again: holiday shopping has begun! With the holiday season fast approaching, online shopping is expected to rise rapidly. The ease and convenience of online shopping make the holiday season the perfect time for cybercriminals to take advantage of unsuspecting online shoppers. Simply adopting the following tips and behaviours can have a substantial impact on your cyber security.
1. Watch Out for Phishing Behaviour
Keep an eye out and examine the emails you receive for any red flags. “Phishing, which occurs when a hacker sends an email that appears to be from a familiar or reputable company to obtain personal information such as credit card information, is a common method used by hackers during the holidays”. Remember that reputable businesses/sellers will never ask for any financial details via email and do not click on any suspicious links or open any suspicious attachments.
2. Shop on Reputable Websites and Access Them Safely
Ensure the website you’re shopping on is a legitimate and safe website. Use the websites of businesses you know and trust, and access them by typing a known, trusted URL into the address bar rather than clicking on a link. Also check the website starts with ‘https’ meaning it’s secure, if it starts with ‘http’ it is not secure.
3. Do Not Auto-Save Your Passwords or Card Numbers
Do not save any of your account passwords or card numbers when shopping online. If you save them and your device or account is compromised, someone may be able to steal your account or card information.
4. Protect Your Accounts and Passwords
It’s essential to have different passwords for each online account and ensure these passwords are complex with many characteristics (numbers, upper and lower case, symbols etc.). Do not use your work email for shopping accounts and where possible, ensure MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) is active.
5. Too Good to Be True
As the old saying goes, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is”. Even during holiday sales, it’s important to remain vigilant when offered a bargain. If the price advertised for your purchase is just too good to be true, scepticism is highly advised.
Stay Safe and Enjoy the Holiday Season
It’s important to be aware of the risks when shopping online, but with the right precautions, you can stay safe while still filling the stockings. Go into this shopping season armed with security tips and a healthy dose of scepticism to detect fraud before you fall for it.
If you have any questions, you can contact our UNE IT Support team on +61 (2) 6773 5000 or via the IT Service Portal.
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