The advancement in technology & the digital revolution has changed our lives to great extent. Everything going online and available just a click away. The e-commerce sites booming up and shopping online has become increasingly popular. There are many reasons to be vigilant while making payments online. Online frauds are on a historic rise these days. Here are 5 tips to make sure you are doing digital transactions safely.
1. Ensure the online Merchant is compliant
How do you do this; Check the website address (URL) for HTTPs. Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure is an extension of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that is used to secure communication over a computer network and is widely used on the Internet. If a website does not have HTTPs, it is not secure and any payment information submitted can be viewed easily.
2. Do not open or click on phishing emails seeking confidential information
We receive a large number of emails every day. Our mailbox is full of messages. It is better to avoid opening marketing emails or promotional emails from banks, third party websites or from unknown. Do not click on any links mentioned in the mail. Also do not share any information asked on the mail by getting attracted by offers, lottery prizes, prize winnings etc. they may be spam.
Hackers also create phishing email ids similar to yours. If your emails are compromised which mentions about payment transactions in bank account number which may sound similar to customers account asking you to transfer the payment in the account. Kindly confirm before making any such transaction.
3. Use OTP during transactions
While you make the payment using a credit or debit card, the banks ask for a Secure PIN(personal identification number) or request for an OTP (One- time password). Always choose OTP over PIN it is a safer option as every time a new six-digit number is generated by the bank and send on your registered mobile number.
4. Use credit cards for online shopping
There is a word of caution for all online shoppers: Make sure you perform online shopping using a credit card and not a debit card. What makes using a debit card extremely risky is the fact that it is linked to your bank account.
With a spending limit, credit cards cannot be misused to the extent a debit card can be. It is pretty easy to dispute fraudulent charges on a credit card as compared to recovering the money taken out from a debit card.
5. Install the latest security software
Have the latest security software installed on your machine. Make it a point to scan your machine once a week and keep updating your antivirus from time to time. When you visit a site or download something from the net without your knowledge few harmful software’s may get downloaded on your machine. Keep your firewall always turned on. Apart from antivirus updations, it is also recommended to keep your operating system and browsers updated to keep the security features updated.
