With Christmas coming up the number of people shopping online is likely to be the highest it has even been. With many great offers available internet shopping has increased significantly in recent times. Monday 29th November is expected to be the busiest even online shopping day in the UK. It is being dubbed ‘Magic Monday’.

There are advantages to shopping online. You can avoid the crowds, you don’t have to leave your computer, and there are many great deals available that you can’t get in the shops. However, there are also things to be wary of. There are people who use internet shopping to their advantage to carry out malicious attacks to either damage people’s computers, or to gain their payment details.

So what can you do to avoid being defrauded? Here are some tips for safe online shopping.

The first thing you should do is make sure your computer is up to date with the latest anti-virus software and spam filters. This will ensure you have the best protection possible against those wishing to attack your computer with viruses. It is important though, to make sure these are genuine products. Be careful as some software advertised as anti-virus can actually attack your computer with a virus, which will either damage your computer or gain access to confidential information stored on your computer.

Before purchasing through a website it is important to make sure you check it is safe. It is wise to make sure the company in question has a telephone number and address on their website. If they do not they may not be a reputable business. You might even want to give the company a call if you have any doubts. It is a good idea to use businesses that you know of, as you know you can trust them.

For any websites that you are unsure of you should carry out some research. It is a good idea to type the name of the website into a search engine and ask about it on relevant forums. If people have been fooled by them before you will usually find someone has written about it to warn others.

If a website has what seems like ridiculous offers then be wary. If prices are way under the norm then don’t trust it unless you are sure. Although it may be genuine it isn’t worth the risk if you are unsure.

When purchasing online you should ideally pay using a credit card, which gives you more rights should there be a problem. PIN’s are never required for online purchases so if a site asks for this do not enter it and use a different website instead. There are two things you should look for in the address box to make sure a payment is secure. For a secure payment the URL should begin with ‘https’ rather than the usual ‘http’. There should also be a lock symbol. If you have entered any card details and then realise you have made a mistake and are suspicious of the site, contact your bank immediately and explain the situation.

The most basic advice when it comes to internet shopping is not to take risks. If you have suspicions about a website, don’t use it. It is not worth the risk to save a little money or inconvenience if you are risking your computer being hacked into or your payment details being obtained by criminals.

Andrew Marshall (c)