Online shopping is a great way to buy products in these pandemic situations. As a result, the term "online shopping" is becoming increasingly popular these days. However, as the "online shopping" popularity has grown, it also has risks, with more users attempting to scam you out of money or steal your credit card information. But You can have a safe and secure online buying experience if you follow a few basic rules
Tips for safe online purchasing

Here are some easy strategies to shop safely online that you may utilize daily:

1) Check out online retailers to make sure they're legitimate.
2) Check to see if the website is safe.
3) Understand your rights as well as the company's return policy.
4) Keep your software and virus protection up-to-date and protect your online accounts with strong passwords.
5) Avoid using public Wi-Fi. It's safer to use a regular data connection.
6) You can pay with a credit card. You'll be better protected. Alternatively, use internet services such as PayPal to prevent thieves from obtaining your bank account information.


01) Check out online retailers to make sure they're legitimate.

There are thousands of shopping websites on the internet, many of which have thousands of individual vendors. The majority of these are authentic. However, recognizing the fakes necessitates some investigation.

If you're using a new website, look it up online to see any negative feedback. Check out independent sellers on a website's online reviews on a site like TrustPilot[1]. Although more well-known eCommerce websites are more trustworthy, they are still susceptible to pharming attacks. You'll learn more about these later.

02) Check to see if the website is safe.

Only ever enter your credit card information on secure websites. To make sure you're shopping safely, look for the indications listed below.

NOTE: Keep in mind that this indicates that the site is secure, not that the vendor is trustworthy.

* Symbol of a padlock - In the address bar, next to the website address, there should be a padlock.
* URL of the website - The address should begin with HTTPS://. The letter 's' stands for secure.

The above shows that the website owners have a digital certificate issued by a trusted third party (Comodo, e.g.), also called an SSL certificate—indicating that the information transferred online from that website has been encrypted and protected from third-party interception and theft. In other words, while the communication between you and the site owner is secure, a certificate does not guarantee that the site owner is the organization or person with whom you believe you are interacting.

But having SSL does not confirm that web site is trustworthy. Anyone can buy SSL using few bucks($). SSL has some levels. Let's know more about SSL levels so that you can get a little bit of trust on the website.

Basic website encryption is included with all SSL certificates. They'll all modify your website's address, to begin with, HTTPS instead of HTTP.
There are three levels of SSLs, which correspond to the level of security provided by the certificate. The CA (Certificate Authority) wants more evidence as the level rises, proving that the website owner owns the domain in question and is an authorized representative of the company.

Customers are more likely to trust a website with higher degrees of validation. The three stages are as follows, in order of increasing confirmation:

=> DV – Domain Validation (for blogs and personal sites)
=> OV – Organization validation (for small businesses, organizations, and educational institutions, with or without e-commerce)
=> EV – Extended Validation (for large companies, agencies, and any sites with e-commerce or high-risk data)

The DV Certificates are the easiest to set up. They don't require any documentation, and they can be bought and set up in a matter of minutes.

CAs that issue OV certificates must use public databases to validate the firm name, domain name, and other information. The company name and domain name for which the certificate was issued will be included in the issued certificate.

Obtaining an OV Certificate is a little more complex than getting a DV Certificate. The Domain Control Validation (DCV) procedure must be followed in this case. The CA will validate the company's legal and physical existence before issuing the certificate, which could take up to three business days.

EV certificates provide the highest level of validity and security. After buying an EV certificate, the applicant must provide papers requested by the Certificate Authority as part of the verification procedure and validate the company's legal and physical presence and telephone number. It may take up to ten business days to complete this process.

So you can see, how these HTTPS term is working. So it is good to check the SSL status of your shopping site.

03) Understand your rights as well as the company's return policy.

Before making an online purchase, there are a few things you should know:

* When will the item be delivered, and from where will it be sent? For example, if the thing is in stock, a seller in the United Kingdom or Europe should ship within a week.
* Is there a policy for returns? Be suspicious if they don't appear to have one. Even if the seller wasn't attempting to defraud you, knowing the procedure will assist you if something isn't delivered or arrives broken.


4) Keep your software and virus protection up-to-date and protect your online accounts with strong passwords.

There are several things you may do to stay secure online.

Make sure your anti-virus and software are both up to date. Changes in updates are frequently made to help protect you and your devices from scammers and cybercriminals.

When creating passwords for your online accounts, always use a combination of upper case, lower case, number, and special characters. In addition, it is beneficial to practice using a phrase or sentence.


5) Avoid using public Wi-Fi. It's safer to use a regular data connection.

Make sure you're utilizing a secure internet connection. Don't use free Wi-Fi at coffee shops, shopping malls, or other public places too.

* Use internet banking or any other service that requires you to provide personal information when shopping online.

* Because public Wi-Fi is frequently insecure. This means that fraudsters can access any data you send when connected to these networks.

Even regular mobile data is safer than public Wi-Fi.


6) You can pay with a credit card. You'll be better protected. Alternatively, use internet services such as PayPal to prevent thieves from obtaining your bank account information.

It is critical to protect yourself when paying. If you buy from a phony seller, you may lose some money. However, if your personal information is stolen, you could lose a lot, if not everything.

Many banks and building societies provide extra security when you shop online by requiring two-factor authorization (2FA). This means that when you shop online, you'll have to go through an extra layer of security to show that you're the one making the purchase.

The most frequent type of 2FA is a one-time code given to the account's registered phone number through text message. Or it could also involve a security question, logging into your mobile banking app, or a fingerprint scan is all possible.

It's worth considering using an e-money provider like PayPal because you won't have to give out your credit card information.

[1] https://www.trustpilot.com/