HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — When it comes to shopping online for Cyber Monday and beyond, here are some tips from Tricia Pruitt, Regional Vice President, Better Business Bureau of North Alabama, that will help you find the best deals:
- Buy from reputable sellers
- Sometimes too good to be true turns out to be just that.
- Compare prices
- Watch out for people who advertise something extremely cheap that happens to be in high demand. You may pay and there is no item to show for it.
- Use a credit card always. That's the safest way to shop if something goes wrong.
Shane Hammett, Vice President of IT & Cyber Security, ITCS Secure Solutions, says that with more people shopping online this year, "Not only is there more activity online, there's also more targeting going on from the bad actors."
Hammett shared some tips for safe shopping online:
- Make sure your systems are up to date. Making sure that you have done all the updates that are needed, both for your operating system as well as your internet browser of choice.
- Make sure that you changed your passwords recently.
- Never click on a link that you get in an email, a text, or anything like that. Always copy and paste information like that into your browser.
And again, always remember when it comes to shopping online, "If it's too good of a deal, then there is a good chance it really is," said Hammett.