This year, we’ve all increased our online shopping activity, and we’re spending a lot more time online than ever before. But, with innovation and new habits also comes challenges. The spate of cyberattacks targeting individuals in South Africa in recent months shows that a more cautious approach to our online activities is indeed necessary. But, that doesn’t mean we should stop shopping online altogether. Online shopping brings with it so many conveniences and becoming more cybersecurity aware is the key to a safe online experience. Follow these easy tips to ensure you’re safe while shopping online and using the internet this festive season.
Stay vigilant
Not only must digitally-connected South Africans keep the threats of previous years in mind, but hackers have become more sophisticated thanks to the connected lifestyles of South Africans. For example, email and text phishing will almost certainly remain a constant threat. However, more elaborate tactics designed to compromise your financial information and steal your identity are coming to the fore.
The festive season is an opportune time for fraudsters to exploit our collective goodwill. Fake charity scams are not unique to the internet. But, when combined with all the Covid-19 scams that have been flooding our devices over the past several months, it is easy to have one slip through and donate by accident. The best way to mitigate the risk of this happening is to phone the charity and confirm the outreach to your device. The minute or two it takes to make a call can save you countless hours of trying to recover your funds and change your online banking details.
Protect your devices
Another familiar, but largely ignored tactic, is to keep your mobile device locked when you are not using it. Lost or stolen phones and tablets are perhaps one of the most significant causes of compromised personal data. If your device supports it, activate the biometrics security feature. This would then require either a retinal or full face scan to unlock the device. At the very least you must lock your phone or tablet with a strong password that contains upper and lowercase characters, special characters (for example $,%, &) and at least one number.
One of the most critically important lessons is to never use public WiFi networks especially when it comes to your online banking and shopping. Even though it is tempting to use the WiFi available at a coffee shop, restaurant, or shopping centre, rather switch your wireless access off completely. Using specialised tools, hackers can ‘eavesdrop’ on these public networks and steal your passwords and other details without you being any the wiser.
When it comes to your devices, it is important to always keep your apps and operating system (whether it is Android, iOS, or something else) up to date with the latest patches. These contain essential security features that protect you against some of the latest developments in cyberattacks. Also, uninstall applications you do not use. Not only will this free up additional storage space, but it also reduces your digital footprint by eliminating potential weak points in your security.
Look for the lock
When shopping online ensure you only transact on secure websites. Look for the lock image on the toolbar, valid certificates such as VeriSign and secure payment systems such as PayU. When you get to the page where you enter your credit card or other personal information, look for an ‘s’ after ‘http://’ in the web address of that page – it should read: ‘https://’. The encryption is a security measure that scrambles your data as it is entered.
Keep track of your bank statements
Check your statements regularly for any unverified transactions, as well as to ensure that no fraudulent charges are happening on your accounts. Often these charges can be in small increments so as not to raise any suspicion or trigger an OTP or transaction notification SMS.
Shop safely online with PriceCheck’s verified retailers this festive season.
