6 Safety Tricks for Online Holiday Shopping

Online shopping is a convenient way to buy what you need without having to stand in long lines. This holiday season, several lucrative offers are available on almost every online retail website. Before you start shopping, you need to follow some measure to ensure your security and privacy. Here are some best tips to help you shop this holiday season safely.

1. Shop from reliable and trusted platforms

Like every year, this holiday season will be packed with numerous offers, coupons and discounts. When you shop from physical stores, you are sure that you will get the product. But, there are several bogus websites which do not exactly deliver the item you added to your cart. Therefore, avoid shopping from websites you have not much hear of and stick to the ones you know.

2. Conduct research

Did an item catch your fancy but it is available on a website you are not familiar with? Well, open the search engine and start researching. Check out their social media pages, reviews, and see if its app is available in the App Stores. Check out the number of app downloads and user ratings. Only when you have confirmed that the website is legitimate, proceed with shopping.

3. Beware of too good to be true deals

Christmas and New Year mean that there will be a lot of offers and sale. However, if an item comes with a rock-bottom price, then you really should check the authenticity. When it comes to gadgets and electronic equipment, you need to check the manufacturer and see if it is genuine or not. Same goes for designer shoes and bags, examine the manufacturer and verify if the item is original for a copy.

4. Use a VPN

Shopping while connected to an open unsecured wireless network is highly discouraged. If you have to connect to a public wireless network, then ensure that you are using a VPN. When you use  VPN, all the private data gets encrypted even when connected to an unencrypted network.

5. Monitor banking transactions

Closely monitor your banking activity and see if there are any suspicious transactions. If you notice anything wrong, then get in touch with your bank and temporarily freeze your account. Pay attention while going through the credit card statements as well.

6. Use robust passwords

If you use passwords such as 12345678, then anybody can sign into your account, add their shipping address, and buy stuff using your credit card details. Keep your online shopping accounts secure by creating a robust password. If possible, add multi-factor authentication.


Aida Martin is a self-professed security expert; She has been making the people aware of the security threats. Her passion is to write about Cyber security, cryptography, malware, social engineering, internet and new media. She writes for Norton security products at norton.com/setup. 

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