How to Shop Online Safely

When you shop online, it’s easy to feel like you’re invincible. But unfortunately, that’s not always the case. There are many ways scammers can try to steal your personal information and money while making purchases on websites or apps. If you take a few simple steps, however, shopping online can be a lot safer than you think!

Look for a secure website.

You can also check to see if a website is secure by looking for a padlock icon in your browser’s address bar. Sites that use HTTPS encryption are more likely to be safe than those that don’t, and you can tell if a site uses HTTPS because it will begin with “https://” instead of just “http://.” If you see this symbol on a site’s homepage, it means that the entire page has been encrypted and secured from prying eyes–including yours!

If you’re still not sure if the site is legitimate or not, look for one of these next:

  • A seal from an independent auditor like TRUSTe or BBBOnline; these organizations verify businesses’ privacy practices before granting them approval badges.
  • A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate; this technology encrypts all data passing between your computer and its server so