How to Shop Safely This Holiday Season

In 2020, over 14% of all shopping was facilitated online. Due to this shift, there is a greater need for companies and individuals to implement the adequate safety measures to avoid having private information and products stolen. This security challenge is larger than just saving passwords on your devices; it takes an intentional effort to avoid compromising situations. 

This year, hackers are working hard to intercede online shopping transactions. Both individuals and corporations need to take the steps necessary to monitor and secure their systems. In this article, we will share how to shop and sell safely this holiday season.

 

1. Use a VPN

This holiday season, you will likely be shopping online for the majority of the products that you purchase. If you want to ensure that your personal credit card and profile information remains secure, consider doing all of your online purchases through a VPN. A virtual private network with RAM-only servers helps to ensure that all of your information is guarded and cannot be stolen by online predators. As a company, you can secure your transactions by utilising a virtual private network. When using corporate cards, guarantee that you will not let any personal information leak by using a VPN.

 

2. Do Not Save Passwords

There are many sites that you likely shop through on a regular basis. If you want to buy online, make sure that you do not save your credit card information on any online purchasing sites. In addition, do not save passwords on any website. Companies should ensure that no employee is saving their passcodes on a regular basis.  It is important that you manually type in a passcode each time you access and account. If you autosave security devices, it can be easy for people to monitor your actions and hack into your accounts.

 

 

3. Use Visa Gift Cards

Rather than purchasing directly through multiple websites, purchase multiple visa gift cards at your local grocery store. Rather than having to submit your credit card information on multiple places throughout the internet, you can limit your exposure by using visa gift cards. These gift cards will not require any of your personal information, making it difficult for hackers to steal your private information. If you are spending large amounts of corporate cash to buy gifts for employees and clients, consider purchasing gift cards to complete each of these transactions. 

 

4. Streamline Your Purchases

Although you may have many different people to buy for, try to streamline the amount of websites that you purchase products from. Although it may be hard to find a single place to shop for your grandma, your nephew, and your best friend, it reduces the chance of your identity getting stolen.

 

As a company, you can streamline the ordering of promotional products, paper goods, and office supplies. Develop a relationship with a vendor that you can trust to fulfill on your needs and demands.

Summary

This holiday season, consumers and companies need to take additional precautions to ensure that their transactions are completed in a secure manner. Whether you utilize a VPN or a Visa gift card, there are ways to minimize your risk. In addition, take the opportunity to minimize your transactions and streamline your purchases to reduce the opportunity for fraud to occur.