If you are like me, you are not about doing much of anything before 7 AM…especially waiting in lines to shop. You will most likely skip Black Friday lines and potential stampedes and wait for the ease and comfort of Cyber Monday. (Nothing beats the comfort of shopping from my own bed.)
As comfortable as Cyber Monday shopping is, it can be as dangerous as a standard Black Friday stampede if you don’t pay attention! Here are some situations to be mindful of to avoid all stampedes, both literal and financial.
Phishing – Phishing happens when you click a link. This link typically takes you to a false login page where you enter your very real username and password. By entering that combination, the phishing engineer now has access to any and everything that combination was protecting. Most often phishing occurs via email, and that email can be masquerading as anything from Amazon to Urban Outfitters.
Best way to protect yourself? Check email addresses. Sometimes they are just one or two letters off, so be vigilant. Verify the URL of the landing page if you do happen to click any of these misleading links. Pay attention to those two details as much as you are to the deals on Cyber Monday.
Malware Attacks – AKA beware the pop-ups! Keep that pop-up blocker turned on your internet browsers. Also be certain before choosing to download images in any e-mail. You may unknowingly install malware onto your device that has access to not just one account, but every account saved upon on your device.
The best protection against a malware attack is installing anti-virus protection on your computer and keeping that protection up to date. McAfee and Norton 360 have some affordable and super accessible programs.
Scams – Scams try to lure you in with what you want to hear. I don’t think Amazon is marking every item down 80% even if you see an ad saying so. Check branding and logos on coupons. Mail-in rebates are rare as well.
If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you have any doubts, contact the company making the offer directly and confirm whether the deal is legitimate. Scams are looking to gain access to your information and offering the initiative of saving money is a common way.
Device Theft – Once you’ve finished all your Cyber Monday shopping, you may have saved all of your usernames and passwords to your device. Who wants to have to remember each and every single login? Therefore, make sure to utilize locks on your devices. No one ever plans to lose a device or have it stolen, but always be one step ahead with a lock. (And yes… you should always remember that password.)
Hope this information keeps your Cyber Monday as comfortable as you hoped, and best of luck bargain hunting for all these upcoming holidays!
