How to Shop Online Securely

You've probably heard about some of the risks of shopping online. You can turn these risks into a much smaller risk if you follow some basic rules before you start your online shopping:

• Never download an email attachment or click on an email link from someone you don't know. This is a common way scammers dupe unknowing buyers into getting information or planting viruses. Some emails will use "phishing" techniques to try and trick you into thinking the buyer is someone who they aren't. For example, a common one is from PayPal. In the picture below, these are all examples of phishing emails. Most of these will wind up in your junkbox, but occasionally the filter will let them slip into your inbox. It will usually be an "urgent message" asking you to resotre access to your account, you've been suspended, etc, etc, and the name of the company will be a real company that you might recognize. Common ones are from eBay, Bank of America, JP Morgan, PayPal, virtually any business. If you have any doubt about the email, open a new window and log into your account (just never click the email links!) and check your account. You'll find out immediately if there is any reason for concern (and if that email was really a scammer). You can also forward the email to the business in question to verify that it's spam.


• Use McAffee's Site Advisor. This is a simple to use installation that will alert you to the status of a website in McAfee's eyes and steer you clear of scammy, spammy, and untrustworthy sites.


• Don't shop under an unsecured connection. This means don't do your online shopping at Starbucks, the library, or any public place with wifi or not, unless you know the connection is secure. How can you tell? First off, you need to make sure your computer has a firewall.
  
  

  
  Always type in the website address for well known websites instead of using Google or clicking email links.

Above: An example of phishing scams in email. Just delete these and get on with your life!


The above photo shows how McAfee will display search results. Any websites that have potentially harmful downloads, or sites that link to other websites that have been known to be harmful, will be checked with a red or yellow "X". A green check signifies safe websites.

Searching is how you get around the internet and in this case, the best way to find things you'd like to buy. You may have found this page through Google, the best site that pulls the best results when searching. The most efficient way to search is to get very specific. Instead of searching for "mens shoes," try including the brand, material, and size. This will yield much better results. Safely choose amongst the sites listed by seeing which of the sites have a green (safe) McAfee Site Advisor checkmark.

Popular sites like Amazon, eBay and Overstock are staples that you can consistently find super deals on high quality items. These sites also have their own search engine to find items on the web site. Try it out! Be as specific as possible to eliminate time browsing around. If there are no results found, try broadening your search details to something like "mens shoes 8." This should pull up plenty of pairs of mens size 8 shoes.

Many sites now have customer reviews right on the site for a better overall experience. Sites like Amazon and Overstock are well known for their outstanding customer reviews. This helps seperate the good from the bad from actual customers (instead of a marketing representative) telling their experiences with the product. Check the star rating of the item, and read the reviews as throughly as you'd like. The more expensive the item you are purchasing online, the more time you may want to spend analyzing customer reviews.

If the website you are visiting doesn't have customer reviews, try searching on Google. Type in the exact name of the product along with the word "review" and you may find some user-based reviews.

Once you get the hang of searching, it can be very easy to find great deals online. eBay, Overstock, and Amazon are typically where some of the best deals can be found online all the time.

Just like Google, you can search these sites using their search feature by typing in the name of the product you're looking for. Or, you can browse by category to see an assortment of products seperated by topic.





Once you've read the reviews and found the product you love (or you think someone else might love), be sure to read the return policy of the site. Most of the larger companies like Overstock and Amazon have an easy return policy, however, check with individual sellers on sites like eBay to see what the return policy is.