The global pandemic and related lockdowns showed us just how easy it could be to shop online from the comfort of home when we need and want to. More and more people have become familiar with sourcing fashion, in particular, from eCommerce sites in the last two years.
If you’re looking at your wardrobe and thinking about the warmer weather coming up and how to update your look, you might be keen to check out summer 2022 fashion trends for women for ideas and inspiration.
Then, when you’re ready to shop, why not head online to find the latest looks in women’s fashion that you can buy ASAP and get shipped straight to your door? As you engage in this retail therapy, though, take care not to make yourself vulnerable to hacker attacks. There are three key ways you can shop more safely online today.
Shop on Well-Regarded Sites
You’ll keep your data more protected from hackers if you’re wary about which stores you shop with. Choose well-regarded, trusted eCommerce sites that take customer security seriously and have a good reputation in the market for this topic and other factors.
You’ll already probably have an idea of some of the longer-term brands that have been operating for years. However, for ideas of newer ones (of which there are many great options), take a look at customer reviews and testimonials on social media sites and shopping forums, and the like to get an idea of which operations are considered good to use.
It’s also vital to type in URL addresses where possible or at least scrutinize websites before handing over any personal or financial information to ensure you’re looking at a real site and not a fraudulent one. These days, often put together fake versions of real websites, especially popular companies that they know get a lot of sales. You want to be sure you’re on the proper, official seller websites and not impersonator ones set up to get details or embed malware on people’s systems.
Consider How Secure Payment Options Are
Once you’ve found good fashion options and have added them to the cart on the retailer’s site, you want to complete your transaction only via a secure payment system. Before you finalize things and input card or other details, read the information on the page to see how safe it is. For example, the site should direct you to a specific secure shopping page with an ‘s’ at the end of the HTTP at the start of the URL and/or a locked symbol that shows up in the address section to indicate it’s protected.
Shop with sites that use well-known and trusted payment provider solutions such as Visa Checkout, Apple Pay, PayPal, or the like. It’s much more secure, too, when retailers don’t store your payment information and instead use third-party merchant services platforms to handle transactions and authorize payment details at the time but then don’t track them further. You don’t want your financial data stored somewhere hackers could break into and steal.
Put Hard-to-Guess Passwords in Place
If you’re like most of us these days, you’ll end up creating accounts with many of the online stores you use so you can collect loyalty points, get newsletter or other member discounts, set up subscriptions and reorders, and generally have fewer details to input in the checkout each time you buy. While this is all handy, these accounts leave you a bit more vulnerable if the sites get hacked.
Always choose hard-to-guess passwords that hackers won’t be able to determine and get your personal details from easily. Effective codes utilize a combination of symbols, upper-case and lower-case letters, and numbers. They should contain at least eight characters and not relate to any information you publish publicly. For instance, stay away from passwords that have anything to do with your pet or children’s names, address or email or phone number contacts, workplace, lucky numbers, etc.
It’s also a good idea to use different codes across different sites so that if one gets compromised, not everything is at risk. If you can’t remember your passwords, use a password management tool to make life easier. Plus, never input your financial and other personal details on sites when you’re using unsecured, public Wi-Fi that cybercriminals could track or hack into easily.
You should also run security software and firewalls on all the computers and other devices you use to shop for new fashion items, as these products help keep hackers at bay.
Shopping online can be fun, accessible, and provide you with time and cost savings. However, protect yourself as much as possible as you go about your browsing and buying. Taking the steps above will help you to stay safer.
Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals
Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.