The holiday season is in full swing, which means online shopping deals (especially on Cyber Monday) are here to entice you. E-commerce businesses have geared up to rake in the dough with more people than ever turning to the web and mobile apps to do their holiday shopping.

While patrons and businesses are grateful for the shopping blitz that comes this time of year, cyber criminals are too—they’re getting more active in order to lure consumers with their exploitation scams. We have all seen in the past how even some of the E-commerce goliaths have fallen victim to the malicious intentions of hackers.

A sound security strategy for your in-store and online shops is paramount. Contact a Carousel rep today to learn more about protecting your client base and your bottom line.

Here are 7 cybersecurity tips to keep you safe this holiday season:

1. Surf Safely with HTTPS: Ensure that E-commerce websites have a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) connection with a valid encryption certificate. HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP, where all communications are securely encrypted.
2. Think Before You Click: Use caution while clicking on any unknown links. Delete all emails that seem suspicious or are from unfamiliar sources. Cyber criminals will make use of your email address to send shopping deals or discount coupons that look real.
3. Use Different Passwords: Ensure that you use different passwords for each E-commerce websites and mobile apps. Use passwords that are complex and unique in nature and manage them in a password vault.
4. Too Good to be True? Let’s face it, there is no such thing as a free iPhone X. We are not that lucky! Please beware of the deals that are too good to be true…chances are, you are getting scammed! Cyber criminals pretend to be authentic online sellers using fake websites or posting fake ads that are designed to be too tempting to resist.
5. Heed Public Wi-Fi: Sensitive activities such as online banking or shopping on any public wireless network should not be conducted.  These open networks pose a major security risks and are a hacker’s paradise for stealing your information.
6. Read the Fine Print in Apps: Best practice is to download mobile apps from the official app store or the official website of the retailer. Also, be cautious of the what information or app permissions are being asked for before you click on the download button. One in 10 mobile apps that can be found by searching for “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday” in app stores are blacklisted as malicious, or are apps that fool you into downloading malware.
7. Update Everything: Always ensure that latest versions of your internet browsers and all of your software, including your antivirus software, is up-to-date in order to protect you while you safely shop online.

I hope these cyber security tips help keep you secure during this busy season. Happy shopping!