People, especially the younger generations, decide to go online shopping due to several reasons. When shopping online, you can enjoy a lot of benefits like saving time and money. You can relax in your condo home and just use your laptop, tablet, or mobile phone to access several shopping sites online. Online shopping has also become one of the preferred past time of some nowadays alongside binge-watching movies, and reading relevant books.
You also have the ability to compare several shopping sites online to make it easy for you to save money. Plus, you can always find the best deals easily when shopping online.
With more and more younger people shopping online, it is clear that millennials are digital natives and they are very comfortable with the digital age. However, despite being tech-savvy, a recent study by Get Safe Online found that over 1 in 10 millennials fell victim to cybersecurity scams, compared to 1 in 20 boomers.
Whether or not you are a millennial, shopping online helps you to avoid crowded malls and parking lots and gives you incredible comfort and convenience. But, you have to remember that comfort and convenience must come with caution.
Here are some basic tips to keep you cyber safe when online shopping regardless of your age group.
Know that you are more valuable than you think
Even if you do not have any money in your bank account, your identity is still valuable to a criminal. With your personal identity, loans are applied for using your name, and crimes can be committed. So, you have to be careful who you trust online because everyone is of interest to a cyber-criminal.
Be careful not to take the phishing bait
Phishing is a type of cyber attack that is used to steal user data. It happens when a hacker sends you an email disguised as a friendly message with a reason to click on a link.
A common phishing attack is a link to a discount for a holiday sale. The email looks good and the link looks very attractive. However, you have to be careful because there is a tendency that this link is being sent to you by a hacker and that the link is designed with malicious intent to steal your data.
It is always best and safest to open a separate search tab and find what you are looking for through your own search without clicking the link directly.
You might find it a bit tedious, but it’s very simple. If you want to make sure that your account is safe, look for anything you don’t recognize, any charge in your card, no matter how small, can mean your card has been hacked and may continue to be falsely charged.
Cybercriminals love to be able to get away with stealing a small amount of money every month in the hopes that you won’t notice. Call the credit card company immediately to report the charges you don’t recognize and request to cancel your card.
Check and take time with a URL
In this busy, always-on environment, it’s easy to get caught in the rush of a hectic schedule and when we type in a URL, it’s very common for us to make a spelling error.
Hackers know we make these mistakes and can register multiple websites that are only slightly different from the one you could be looking for. These fake sites are designed to look exactly like the ones you are looking for so they can trick you into taking your money and data.
Always take the time to check the URL, and be careful. Make sure that the landing page you’re on is the one you intended to land on.
Protect yourself from those dangerous Wi-Fi connections
Aside from dangerous websites, corrupt Wi-Fi connections are very popular among cybercriminals, which are also designed to steal your data. The best way to avoid these dangerous Wi-Fi connections is to not assume any network that shows up on your device is legitimate.
Remember that when you are in a public place, you have to look for signs with the location’s Wi-Fi network name or ask an employee of a coffee shop you’re into for the information, then be sure to use that exact network.
Once you log on to a known network, remember that it doesn’t mean you are safe just yet. Remember that public Wi-Fi is not secure. Hackers love to view the traffic moving through the cyber air of a public place, looking to steal login credentials and password information.
It’s best to wait until you get home or use your mobile data before using websites that require entering sensitive information like your bank or credit card information.
Being a safe and secure online shopper starts with being able to stop, think, and connect. Don’t forget to take security precautions, think about the consequences of your actions when shopping online, and enjoy the conveniences of technology with peace of mind while you shop online.
Be safe and secured while staying indoors and pursuing your love and passion inside your new ready for occupancy condo in Manila investment with Vista Residences.
Vista Residences is the condominium arm of the country’s largest homebuilder, Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc., which offers ready for occupancy and pre-selling condominium projects in Manila and Quezon City that are strategically located within inner-city areas, in close proximity to premium universities and developed business districts.
At Vista Residences, unit owners can take advantage of the property’s centrality. The properties of Vista Residences are strategically located near the country’s premium universities and CBDs, making them an attractive investment for both local and foreign investors.
Vista Residences has ready for occupancy condo projects in Manila such as Vista Taft, Vista Heights, Vista GL Taft, 878 Espana, and Crown Tower University Belt. Meanwhile, its ready for occupancy projects in Quezon City include Wil Tower, the Symphony Towers, Madison Place, Pine Crest, and Vista 309 Katipunan.
Living in Vista Residences enables you to enjoy convenience, where everything is pretty much within walking distance or a few minutes away from the property; comfort because the project features and amenities are designed to deliver comfort at all times, which makes condo living a worthy investment; security that is 24/7 and CCTV monitoring, which makes the residents safe and secure within the property.
In line with Vista Residences’ thrust to offer convenience among its residents, it also features an AllDay Convenience Store and Coffee Project in all its projects.
For more information on Vista Residences, email [email protected], follow @VistaResidencesOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, or call the Marketing Office at 0999 886 4262 / 0917 582 5167.
