Be Safe and Secure When Holiday Shopping Online

We at Caincorp.NET urge online shopping to be aware of scams while shopping on the Internet this holiday season. With Cyber Monday being one of the busiest Internet shopping days of the year, we urge online shoppers to be aware of fraudulent web sites. Regardless of the deals they may have posted, there are some things to remember before buying anything online.

1. Checking the version of your anti-virus programs. This will help protect someone from stealing personal information from your computer by malious code, tracking cookies and trojans.


2. Go to online stores or buy through companies that you know and check their reputation on the Better Business Bureau website (we have an A+ Rating). Also, make sure the prefix Https:is present when conducting online transactions.

3. Protect your home WI-FI!! WI-FI hackers can and will ruin a lot more than your holiday this season. Drive-by Hackers can use your internet connection to hack business, steal data and yes, even rob a bank. Should that happen, who do you think the FBI is coming to visit? Certainly not the hackers. Secure your internet. If you do not know if you're secure, or don't know how, we'd be more than happy to assist.

Public Wi-Fi networks will get a workout this holiday season as people travel. This is especially true with Google offering free Wi-Fi on domestic flights from three major airlines. Check out our security tips from Google's free Wi-Fi offer at airports last year, most of which are still relevant in the skies. Number one tip: Avoid shopping and paying bills over a public network.

4. Avoid the "Gift Card" scams. That free $1,000 gift card offer you saw on Facebook? Bogus, of course. McAfee says that cybercrooks lure people into giving away their personal information or taking quizzes in exchange for these cards, which never arrive. The information is then sold to marketers or used for identity theft. The FBI also says to use caution when purchasing gift cards through auction sites or classified ads. These can be fraudulent, and you won't get your money back. Buy directly from retailers instead.

5. Craigslist and Auction ads will deprive you of your hard earned cash and possibly in jail.Here's a particularly tricky scheme pointed out by the FBI:

On auction and classified sites, fraudsters use their own order forms to get payment details from holiday gift buyers. Then, they charge the victim's credit card and use a stolen credit card to buy the actual item, which is sent directly to the victim. In other words, you'll still get the product, but you might be liable for receiving stolen goods. To avoid this scam, be sure to use legitimate payment services like Paypal instead of providing money directly to the seller.

The feds also warn of a related scam for free or reduced-price shipping offered on auction and classified sites. The fraudsters provide fake shipping labels to the victim, and the product ends up being intercepted in transit, never delivered to its destination.

So, hopefully this information will prove to be helpful this holiday season. Be safe and take care.

As always, Caincorp.NET (612)396-7623