How to Protect Yourself When Shopping Online

You're the most avid online shopper you know. You buy everything from shoes to clothes to accessories to home furnishings and electronics. But do you know who you're sending all of your financial information to when you make those purchases? Better watch your back, because hackers are out there tracking down people like you who don't know how to protect themselves when buying online.

The Hackers

A hacker is defined as anyone who tries to gain unauthorized access to your computer. Most hackers have a vast knowledge of computer systems and how they work, and are professionals at installing some sort of unknown and unwanted "bug" on your computer that allows them to access your information.

Why do they do it? A lot of times they just like the thrill of knowing they can defeat the challenge. Other times, they are trying to rob you, or they are seeking revenge on a person or corporation and want to do so using their best weapon: their knowledge of computer systems.

Some hackers are more dangerous than others, as many of them are just looking for a laugh or trying to make trouble and show that they can hack a computer system. Others are looking for bragging rights and target large corporations with highly secure networks, while others still are the criminal type.

If you get hacked while shopping or buying online, you'll likely run into the criminal type. They want access to all of your financial information so that they can potentially steal money from you.

The Shoppers

How often have you made purchases online? Every week? Every month? And how many times have you had to contact the seller due to damaged products, wrong products, or no product at all? Once? Maybe twice? Hacking situations can get much worse.

Most of the time, online shoppers are willing to give out their credit card information over the Internet with little to no hesitation at all. They don't bother to check where they're sending their information, whether it's a secure or non-secure network.

Blissful unawareness is not a good defense in this one. With the status of technology and the Internet in the 2010's, it's hard to be unaware of the fact that there are networks out there that are more secure than others. If you're not careful where you're sending your financial information, you could easily be hacked.

The Result

Hackers will often disguise a bug that they're sending to your computer in the form of an email. If you give out your email address while checking out at an online retailer, you could receive a strange message from the "seller" or "payment network" that you're tempted to open because you have no reason to think it's not legitimate.

Other times, just giving your credit card number allows hackers just the right amount of access they need to access your financial accounts. They could do anything from steal your information and use it as if it is their own to actually take physical money from your account by means of your computer.

You could find random charges to your card on future statements if your account has been hacked, or you could notice an immediate chunk of money missing from one of your accounts.

The Solution

There are a couple of roads to follow to online financial security, even while shopping online. For starters, use one credit card, and one credit card only. Credit cards protect you by not holding you liable for any strange charges to your card. If someone somehow hacks your credit card account, most major credit card companies have a policy where you won't have to make payments to the card until the issue is resolved, and they'll work with you to make sure you don't end up getting stuck paying the unauthorized charge.

Debit cards, on the other hand, are like giving a hacker direct access to your actual bank account. Checks do the same thing. The less money a hacker has access to (most likely your credit card will be your best bet), the less money they can take from you.

Check the address bar when you're making your purchases. Web sites that are spelled correctly are more likely to be secure. The "http://" should also change to read "https://" (with the added "s") when you are checking out. The "s" means the site is secure.

Check and double check for contact information. If for any reason anything goes wrong with your purchase or your transaction, make sure you have the information that you need to contact either the seller or whatever third party payment software you've gone through. Being able to talk to an actual person about an issue that may arise will be more helpful to you than trying to figure it out online.

Hold on to all receipts from your purchases. If anything should go wrong, you can go to the seller with proof of your order and how much money you should owe. Written or emailed documentation is your best defense in a case of your account being hacked.

That said, be wary of which emails and attachments you choose to open. Don't open anything that looks suspicious that says it deals with your account or your purchase. Only open emails that are from the actual company you ordered from or your bank or credit card company. If anything looks fishy, a good rule of thumb is don't open it. Hackers love to hide their bugs in the form of emails and attachments.

You can still enjoy online shopping from here on out, but from now on, if you choose to follow some of these suggestions (which you should), just know that your information will be more secure than ever. You can "shop til you drop" online without the added worry of your financial information being accessible to the wrong people.

Dani is a writer specializing in ecommerce solutions. She works closely with retailers to insure their customers' financial information stays secure online.