The holiday season is edging near, and it’s once again the time to shop till you drop if you haven’t during the 11.11 sale.

While you surf through websites after websites, making one online payment after another, don’t forget to check if the websites are authentic and not some phishing sites.

To help you safeguard yourself from becoming the next cybercrime victim, here are five tips that you should take note when shopping online.

TIPS FOR SAFE ONLINE SHOPPING

1. If it sounds too good to be true, it IS too good to be true. There is no such thing as a free iPhone!
2. Never fill in purchase details on a website that doesn’t use a secure (encrypted) connection. Don’t be fooled by padlock images in the webpage itself: look for the padlock in your browser’s address bar.
3. Don’t click on links in unsolicited emails. Those links could land you on a phishing website or a website that will infect you with malware via what’s known as a drive-by download. Always type in the website address but be careful of mistyped addresses where cybercrooks may be squatting. Bookmark the sites you typically visit for shopping, banking, etc.
4. Watch out for sites that ask for way too much information, such as your card PIN – which is not used online – Social Security number or national ID number. And never share your passwords. IF IN DOUBT, GIVE NOTHING OUT!
5. Scrutinise your bank statements. Check your bank account transactions regularly for signs of fraud, particularly after making purchases online. If you discover payments that you can’t identify, notify your bank immediately.

The above tips were contributed by Sumit Bansal, Managing Director of ASEAN and Korea, at Sophos.

Sophos is an IT security solutions provider for home and enterprises.

For more information on Sophos’s products, visit https://www.sophos.com/en-us.aspx.