VANCOUVER, CANADA – Cyber Monday, the Monday after American Thanksgiving, kicks off one of the busiest online shopping periods of the entire year. Every year at this time, consumers purchase hundreds of millions of dollars online, hoping to catch great deals.
But hackers and cyber criminals prowl the Internet, so it’s important for online shoppers to behave responsibly to avoid an unpleasant holiday-season surprise.
Web security experts at Pacific Coast Information Systems Ltd. (PCIS) have some helpful Tips for Shopping Safely Online:
* Don’t give the e-commerce site your private information. Businesses will often try to collect more information than they need.
* Beware of cyber scams. If a company asks for a social insurance number, you should refuse. They won't need that information to complete a transaction. Also, don’t respond to e-mails claiming to have a problem with your account and asking for financial information. You can always check if there was really a problem with the transaction by calling the business directly.
* Keep your computer up-to-date. Most computer users unfortunately aren’t even protected against the viruses and malicious code deployed a year ago, much less the latest threats. Update your operating system, spam filter, anti-virus software and web browser, and use a firewall.
PCIS also has a Tip for E-commerce Businesses:
* Build security into your e-commerce website BEFORE there’s a problem. If your website is attacked, a “this site may harm your computer” warning message on a search engine that tracks vulnerable websites will keep customers away from your site. Security breaches can result in loss of reputation and financial losses and can even lead to an organization ceasing operations.
