With Christmas coming, there will be an inevitable increase in the number of searches you make on the internet. Purchasing online is very convenient, but also comes with many hazards ...
Did you know that fake websites are springing up all over the place and can use facilities like Google Ads to increase their rankings in the search engines and to trick consumers into thinking that they are clicking through to a legitimate website?
You may even get a fake email which could look like legitimate marketing materials, but instead of containing links to your favourite shopping website actually contain fake links to a dodgy retail website. Make sure you always pay by credit card and not a debit card as you have greater fraud protection.
Fraudsters are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and we can no longer have the 'it won't happen to me' attitude or mindset!
Ensure that you have highly secure passwords to your online shopping accounts, never store card details on every website you buy from as this increases the chances of multiple fraud instances.
Buy from trusted sources and set up 2-factor authentication (if available) to authorise any login to your online shopping accounts to decrease the threat of hackers mimicking you. On the other side of the coin, stolen card details leading to purchases being made by fraudsters cost the retailing industry a massive £34.5million since March 2020 as the pandemic hit causing an increase in online activity.
So, please be careful this Christmas and review your cyber security. Change your standard passwords from your normal ones and use a password generator and a reputable password storage service.
Get advice from your IT company or administrator even for your personal use and definitely if you are buying presents online for your customers.
If you feel inspired to find out more then do call me on 07555 807700 or leave a comment below and I'll be in touch as soon as I can.