How to stay safe while shopping online

Believe it or not but silly season is around the corner, and this means that consumers are about to be inundated with Black Friday and Festive Shopping promotions.

The Online Retail in South Africa 2023 study shows that online shopping shot up from 27% in 2020 to 38% in 2022, a 40% increase in the total number of people shopping online.

With challenging market conditions facing consumers, shopping for online deals is likely to increase over the next quarter.

Here are some tips to keep in mind to shop safely online.

??Only use secure sites and Wi-Fi.

Look for the padlock or https:// before the link. Be wary of URLs and check that they are legit. Don’t click on social media links from Facebook or Instagram, rather google the brand and visit their website. Better yet, bookmark your favourite sites or type the URL directly into the address bar. Never use public Wi-Fi to do your online shopping as sensitive information could be compromised.

??Update software and browsers.

Always keep your software, device firmware, browsers and apps up to date. This ensures that security vulnerabilities are less likely to be exploited.

?

????Use strong passwords.

Did you know that a hacker can instantly crack a 5-character password that uses numbers, upper and lowercase letters and symbols? A strong password that contains a mixture of characters and symbols and isn’t related to any personal info is best. Either use a password generator or a password manager.

It may also be helpful to create an email address you only use for online shopping to avoid spam. And if you’re worried if your email address has been compromised, check here to see if it has been in a data breach.

?

??Watch out for offers that look too good to be true.

If someone is offering 80% off sitewide, this may be a red flag. Always look for realistic pricing. Check if the offer is advertised elsewhere and always read comments or reviews to see what other people are saying. While these may not always be accurate, they will give you a good indication. If you’re looking for good deals, visit our Deals page through our app or website, which is updated regularly and has great offers exclusive to PayJustNow users.

?

??Use a payment service.

While it may be easy to steal credit card information, a payment service, like Buy Now Pay Later, adds an extra layer of protection. At PayJustNow , we use a selfie that is compared with the Home Affairs database to verify shoppers and reduce fraud. We also have stringent credit checks to ensure that you don’t overextend yourself and can easily make the three equal and interest free instalments.

?

?? Ensure the payment gateway is PCI DSS compliant

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards or PCI DSS compliant means that merchants and payment processors adhere to the leading-edge security requirements of managing your data while you are making payments. This includes storing info of the payment processor and using encryption, masking, hashing and truncation to safeguard it. PayJustNow is PCI DSS compliant and is verified by independent security auditors.?

?

??Be vigilant.

Check bank statements and debit orders for any discrepancies. Avoid clicking on suspicious email links as well as shortened links. And always look out for different letters e.g. the l or a below.

?

?Craig Newborn is the CEO of PayJustNow .

#Ecommerce #Onlineshopping #Cybersecurity #BNPL

?