Safe & Easy Online Shopping
March 2020
Is online shopping safe?
▸ Online shopping indeed is safe, if you follow a few simple rules.
1. Restrict your shopping to businesses you trust.
▹ This generally would be groups with whom you have done business in the past, or those recommended by a trusted friend.
2. Make sure you are at the correct website.
▹ Many times, an incorrect website results from a link in a phishing email. 3. Only shop on secure sites (the URLs of which start with “https://”, not “http://”). ▹ The “s” stands for “secure”.
▹ It mostly is safe to visit and do business with trusted sites even on public Wi-Fi. ▹ However, the use of a trusted VPN (Virtual Private Network) provides a more complete security solution.
4. Don’t shop online or visit a site that requires sign-in if you are using a public computer (bank, library, school, etc.)
▹ Others may be watching or taking pictures of your computer screen. ▹ Someone may have installed a keylogger program to capture your keystrokes.
How to pay online?
▸ Credit cards are fine but may not be as secure as other ways of paying online.
▹ If you follow the rules given earlier, you probably are okay using them. ▹ Check your card’s balance online frequently to watch for fraudulent charges to your account.
▹ Most cards have some form of charge dispute process.
▸ In general, you should limit your use of a debit card for online payments.
▹ Debit cards generally are tied directly to a bank account.
▹ Again, if you follow the rules given earlier, you probably are okay using them.
▹ While charge disputes are available on debit cards, some or all of your bank balance could be tied up for weeks during the dispute case.
▸ Indirect payment services such as PayPal (https://paypal.com) are a good alternative to credit cards.
▹ When purchasing goods and services, the seller pays the fee, just as with a credit card.
▹ You can tie your credit cards and bank accounts to such a service.
▸ Kim Komando (https://www.komando.com) points out that the credit card companies (Visa, MasterCard, etc.) are in the process of developing their own PayPal alternative.
▹ Kim Komando puts new DIY Security tips on her website frequently.
▸ Kim Komando also recommends prepaid cards as an alternative to credit cards.
▹ If the card is from Visa, MasterCard, etc., it will be accepted wherever you use those credit cards.
▹ The amount that can be tied up due to a charge dispute is limited to the balance on the card.
▹ They can be reloaded at any time.
▸ Gift cards also are available for specific businesses, such as Walmart, Lowes, and so forth.
▸ Amazon recently introduced Amazon Cash, which works like an Amazon gift card, but also is accepted at “participating Amazon Cash locations.”
▸ Remember, these business-specific cards usually can be used for online or brick & mortar shopping only at that business. Money saving apps (https://bestandvs.com/wikibuy-vs-honey-comparison-saving-moneyonline-made-easy)
▸ Wikibuy and Honey are browser extensions designed to save money while shopping online.
▹ When you shop at online stores such as Amazon, Target, Walmart, and eBay,
▹ They scan and check man sites to determine which store has the better deal. ▹ They also search through coupons that others have successfully used.
The eight best money-saving apps
(https://www.thebalance.com/best-money-saving-apps-4162984)
1. Swag bucks: Best App for Rewards (https://www.swagbucks.com)
2. Shopkick: Best App for Online Deals (https://www.shopkick.com)
3. Honey: Best App for Busy Online Shoppers (https://www.joinhoney.com)
4. Wikibuy: Best App for Your Web Browser (https://wikibuy.com)
5. CamelCamelCamel: Best App for Amazon (https://camelcamelcamel.com)
6. Ibotta: Best App for Groceries (https://ibotta.com)
7. Rakuten (formerly Ebates): Best App for Online Cash Back (https://www.rakuten.com)
8. Cashback Monitor: Best App Before Online Shopping (https://www.cashbackmonitor.com)
Which to choose?
▸ You may want to use more than one of these apps/extensions.
▸ You may want to try them all to see which ones meet your needs best.
One final tip …
▸ If you are an Amazon prime customer, checking other sites or using a price comparison app might be a good idea.
▹ From my observations, I have found that though I get free shipping with Amazon Prime, it may come at a higher unit price for the item I'm purchasing.