Safety tips as you shop throughout this discount season

It’s Black Friday season and as much as that screams discounts discounts discounts, the cyber-thieves are on their toes to prey on the vulnerable and careless shoppers.

What some Nigerian shoppers are however concerned about is the genuineness of the Black Friday deals Jumia, Konga and the others claim to offer

But it’s very pertinent that shoppers stay mindful throughout this season and beyond, as it takes just one slip to lose your hard earned money to cyber-criminals.

Pulse shares 5 tips you could use to be one step ahead of these online criminals.

Be extra careful about suspicious URL links

Even if you receive a promotional branded email first hand before you have even made a purchase or visited that site, from what looks like a trusted retailer with their logos and fonts, it could still be a scam.

To be on the safe side, always type a retailer’s address direct into your browser to avoid being redirected to a fake site. And be on the lookout for the all-important https:// (as opposed to http://). The “s” stands for secure – so that one little letter is crucial to your online safety.

Payments

Here the https protocol for secure websites should guarantee your credit card or debit card details are not intercepted by cybercriminals. Generally ensure you patronize reputable websites for your shopping needs.

Tracking URLs

This one comes after you have checked out i.e. made a purchase on the website. A tracking URL code is usually sent to the customer that he would use to keep tabs on the delivery status of purchased and ordered goods.

The cyber-criminals are aware of this and could send you an unsuspecting customer a tracking URL link or code. In this case you would need to double check to be sure it’s not from a fake source that wants to trick you into clicking and through that infecting your computer with malware. Just like the first point explains, you can enter the address of the company directly to play safe.

Report to authorities

Report to the bank if you suspect fraudulent activity like your account getting debited unduly, so they can cancel your card. In some cases the bank may be able to assist in getting your money back.

Report suspected or confirmed criminal activity to the police force. This can go a long way in addressing such incidence in the future using intelligence data.

Report the case to the business you thought you were buying from in such cases. These businesses have a stake in the matter and are usually dependable to track down such illegal websites and having them shut down. They also usually have the resources to bring to book all forms of impersonators of their brand online.

Do Not Negotiate

If you find yourself locked out of your PC due to ransomware, it’s more than likely the attackers will ask you to pay a ransom to give you back control.(that’s why it’s called ransomware after all).

And they also often ask for payment in untraceable currencies like Bitcoin. The reason why you should not negotiate is because once you have been identified as a soft target, they’ll probably be back for more attack.

Solution here is to have a secure archiving (backup) solution in place that will ensure you can recover your lost information easily, so you don’t have to pay a dime to the ransomware folks.

Happy Black Fridaying!