Local Expert Offers Online Shopping Security Tips for Cyber Monday

(KNSI) — Shoppers will scour the web this Cyber Monday looking for deals, but scammers are lurking, waiting for unsuspecting customers to steal their information.

The FBI put out a news release showing what to look for when clicking around. They say don’t buy anything from a site before checking to make sure it’s secure. Look for “https” at the beginning of the web address and a padlock in the address bar. Check for spelling errors in descriptions and graphics, note and pay attention to a device’s security warnings, verify website contact information, review privacy policies, and look for trust seals from reputable security organizations.

Net V Pro Vice President of Business Development Keith Swingle tells KNSI News that when buying is done, there’s a simple step to ensure personal information is hard to hack. “If you’re making a bunch of purchases, you might want to, after you’ve gone through the shopping or even after Christmas time, go through and change those passwords.”

He says the best passwords are eight characters or longer and include both upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols, and every character past eight makes a password harder to crack. Also, monitor bank and credit card accounts to make sure that you’re the only one accessing them.

According to Swingle, another way to keep data safe is to avoid clicking links posted to Facebook and TikTok. “I won’t click on the social media site because if it’s legit, they’ll have a website, right? Another little thing is to go direct. Because you want to make sure that it’s a legitimate thing.”

According to Adobe Analytics, last year’s Cyber Monday was a record-setting day for e-commerce sales, with $12.4 billion spent, a 9.6% increase compared to 2022. This year, shoppers are estimated to ring in $13 billion in sales.

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