Online Holiday Shopping Safety Tips

Everyone knows what a hassle holiday shopping can be when you’re faced with overcrowded department stores, limited supplies of the year’s popular merchandise and poor driving and road conditions due to weather. These are some of the reasons so many people, myself included, opt to do most or all of their holiday shopping online.

Online shopping offers us the convenience of shopping where and when we want to, free of crowds. Instead of being limited to stores within our own communities, we can purchase from anywhere in the world, all with a few clicks. Not only does this increase the variety of items we can purchase, it also allows the buyer to comparison shop to get the best deals on the same merchandise. Online shopping also offers great buys on many items not available in the actual stores, and usually around the holiday season, many retailers will also offer free or low-cost shipping options. All in all, it’s a pretty great deal, although not without some downfalls.

With all the many benefits of online shopping, it does come with some risks. About.com offers some great ideas for preventing identity theft, which has recently become more of a concern with online shopping. Credit card use is preferable over debit card use when making purchases online because credit cards offer more protection for the user if their account number were to fall into the wrong hands. Many credit cards offer a $0 liability against fraudulent use, or put a limit on the dollar amount the cardholder would be responsible for in cases of unauthorized use.

It is also recommended that credit card information not be stored on any site, even reputable ones, in case somehow their site were hacked, putting your information at risk. This would mean skipping the convenient features such as one-click shopping, where your credit card information was pre-stored, and instead, opting to type it in each time you make a purchase from the site. Sure, the one-click features are much easier and faster but may pose more of a security risk than entering the account information each time.

Another great suggestion to prevent identity theft from About.com is the concept of using a disposable credit card. These are cards with pre-set amounts placed on them, that are then discarded when used up, or refilled with more funds. This way, you can remain anonymous, and if your card was stolen, the thief would not have access to your name or other personal information. Also, the thief would only have access to the remaining amount of funds still on the card, then it would become useless.

Only shop online with secure sites that offer the little “lock” icon, and double check to be sure the lock is in “locked” position while making your transactions. Pay attention to any security warnings that may pop up on your computer. Also, always check the URL of the website. Those that begin with HTTPS:// are secured, as opposed to those that start with simply HTTP://. Also, never do online shopping from a public computer, but rather do it somewhere private such as at home.

From my own personal experience, I have also found it helpful to keep track of what you purchase online, especially during the holiday season when chances are there will be more frequent purchases. When you begin to buy this here and that there, it can become confusing, especially when several packages arrive at the same time. Make a list of what item you bought, from where, with what credit card and the amount of purchase. If estimated delivery arrival time is given, jot that down too for future reference. Be sure to keep track of all your credit card statements, and make sure the amounts add up.This way, you know if everything has arrived in a timely manner, and can be sure your card was not charged incorrectly, which could easily happen during the hectic holiday season without you even realizing it. Also, you will be aware if something is late arriving or never made it to its destination.

Keeping these precautions in mind, you should be able to comfortably do your holiday shopping online this season, with more peace of mind than in years past. Happy holidays and happy shopping!


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