Blog
home
  • Register

Data Net Blog

Data Net has been serving the California area since 1983, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

Online shopping? Watch out for these red flags

Online-shopping-Watch-out-for-these-red-flags

Who doesn’t like online shopping? Online shopping has opened up a whole new world to us. Get whatever you want, whenever you want, without wandering from store to store. It doesn’t matter if it is too hot to venture outside or if there’s a blizzard out there, you do your shopping from the comfort of your couch and the stuff at your doorstep. You get great deals, some are better than in-store specials. But, did you know cybercriminals love the concept of online shopping as much as you do. Cybercriminals are exploiting the growing popularity of online shopping to cheat unsuspecting buyers through techniques such as phishing, malware injection, etc. Here are a few tips that may work to keep you safe from being a target of cybercriminals as you shop online.

How to determine if the ad or shopping site is genuine?

As you browse the web, you will come across various ads targeted at your interests. Businesses engage in ‘Retargeting’ which means they use cookies to target you with very specific ads until you buy something. For example, look at a wallet and, you will see ads for wallets on various other sites you browse even if they are not shopping sites. Are those ads genuine? Before clicking on any ad you see online and making a purchase, be sure to verify if the ad is genuine. The same goes for shopping sites. Before you shop, you need to ensure the site is genuine, especially since you will be sharing your credit card details or Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as your address. Here are a few things to check before you make that online purchase.

English:  Keep an eye out for grammatical errors or spelling mistakes in the ad. Fake ads and sites may look a lot like the actual ones, but spelling mistakes or grammar errors may tell the true story. Scammers don’t have content writers to write great sales content!

Check the URL:  When at a shopping site, always check the URL in the address bar to ensure it is genuine. For example, if you see www.1amazon.com or www.amazon-usa.com, you should know it is not the same as www.amazon.com. Checking the URL also lets you detect website cloning and phishing. Website cloning is one of the most popular methods used by scammers to fleece consumers. As the term suggests, the cybercriminal first creates a ‘clone’ site that looks exactly like the original one, barring a very minor change in the URL.

Patience Can Equal Productivity
What Twitter’s API Breaches Mean for Cybersecurity...
Comment for this post has been locked by admin.
 

Comments

No comments made yet. Be the first to submit a comment
Guest
Already Registered? Login Here
Guest
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Captcha Image

Latest News & Events

SAN DIEGO — Veteran-owned and operated IT service provider Data Net Solutions Group is moving its base of operations to a new location in Banker’s Hill in order to facilitate more interactive events and activities.

Contact Us

Learn more about what Data Net can do for your business.

Call Us Today
Call us today
(760) 466-1200

2445 5th Avenue
Suite 200

San Diego, California 92101