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6 Major Risks of Online Shopping

Online shopping quickly grew from a niche market to many individual’s primary method of purchasing goods. As smart phones proliferate, we also see the advent of grocery shopping apps, food delivery, and many other ways to shop online for goods traditionally purchased in brick and mortar locations. Without question, Americans are becoming more digital. 

Yet, with the convenience comes an increased risk for cyberattack and fraud. It is important to maintain your digital privacy and online security when shopping online, and by taking the right steps, you can significantly reduce your risk. 

1. Fake Online Reviews 

Consumer reviews of products have become an invaluable part of the online shopping experience. Without the ability to inspect a product oneself, truthful commentary from real consumers can reveal flaws or negative aspects of the product to inform your shopping decision. Unfortunately, many online reviews are fake.  

Some reviewers may exaggerate their complaints or enthusiasm for the product, but this is to be expected. Fake online reviews are often written by bots or even competitors to disparage or artificially inflate a product.  

You must learn to spot which reviews are authentic and which are not. Here are a few things to look for: 

  • Does the review have an abundance of grammatical and spelling mistakes? 
  • Does the review use a repetitive phrase? This could be an attempt to exploit the review algorithm. It could even repeat the same phrase over and over again. 
  • Does the website offer a chance to view the user’s comment history? This will allow you to get a sense of the commenter. Do they only post negative reviews? Are they spamming the same negative review on multiple sites? Is this the reviewer’s only written review? 

2. Data Theft 

There is always a risk of data theft when making purchases online. As part of the transaction, you must transmit sensitive information such as your address, credit card numbers, full legal name, and more. If that organization were to suffer a breach, this information can be stolen and resold on the Dark Web. In turn, this information can then be used against you in a phishing scheme. 

In general, you must be careful who you share your private information with. The consequences include identity theft, fraud, and a complicated financial mess to untangle. 

When shopping online, choose organizations that: 

3. Exposure to Malware 

The next two items are closely related. Fake shopping apps and extensions could transmit malware onto your computer or mobile device. 

Though it is a risk regardless of what activity you do online, malware can infect your computer or mobile device through online shopping. That malware could simply degrade the performance of your device, but it could also be collecting personal information, passwords, logging keystrokes, or other strategies to steal your data. 

To reduce the risk of malware on your device, consider: 

  • Subscribing to anti-virus/anti-malware software on all your devices 
  • Use discretion when deciding which websites to visit 
  • If an account offers the option for two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA), be sure to enroll.

4. Fake Shopping Apps & Extensions 

Online shopping is big business. There are countless mobile apps, browser extensions, and online programs designed to simplify and enhance the online shopping experience. They might help consumers find coupons, sales, and bundle deals. They may portray themselves as a no-cost, no-risk way to save money, you must be cautious. 

Installing these extensions could give access to your sensitive, personally identifiable information to whatever company or individual developed the app. Even more legitimate extensions cannot be fully trusted. They may have Terms of Service that relinquish this information to the developer who can then do with it as they please.  

To avoid this issue, consider: 

  • Only download apps from the official app marketplaces: The Apple App Store and Google Play Store 
  • Read the Terms of Service for any app or extension you download 
  • Do not jailbreak your device as that removes standard security features put in place by the manufacturer 
  • As a business, consider solutions such as the OneSpan Mobile Security Suite. 

5. Package Thieves 

In the era of online shopping and shipping, petty theft of delivered items has become much more prevalent. These thieves drive around residential neighborhoods during the daytime hours when people are typically away from home and take any packages they find left on the porch. 

To counteract this threat, consider the following: 

  • Coordinating a neighborhood watch program to help spot potential package thieves 
  • Shipping purchased items to your office, requesting a signature at time of delivery, or shipping it to the local store and retrieving it there. 

6. Insecure Payment Methods 

The digital age has brought more ways to pay for a product than ever before, but not all payment systems are equally secure. Cybercriminals can intercept and retrieve personal information, including credit card numbers, from vulnerabilities in insecure payment methods. 

To avoid this, consider: 

  • Whenever the option is available, process the payment through established, trusted payment providers, such as Paypal 
  • Be sure that the ecommerce site has a collection of trust logos including the Better Business Bureau and other reputable trust organizations 
  • Avoid using unknown payment providers 
  • Search for the same product on more established e-commerce sites 

Enjoy Your Secure Online Shopping Experience 

With these few security tips in mind, you can shop confidently online and great reduce your risk of malware or fraud. Happy shopping. 

 

 

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