5 Tips to Help Keep Your Personal Data Safe Online

The weeks leading up to and following Christmas are some of the busiest online shopping days of the year including Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Boxing Day Sales and January Sales.

It’s easy to get caught up in the marketing hype and, while people have their eyes on the best deals, fraudsters are just waiting to take advantage and capture personal data.

While you’re internet shopping it’s important to make sure you take as many steps as you can to keep your personal data safe and away from fraudsters. Personal data includes your email address, postal address, phone numbers, bank details/information and your date of birth. This is the kind of information that, if passed into the wrong hands, could lose you a lot of money or put you at increased risk of identity theft.

When purchasing online we recommend the following tips to help keep your personal data safe:

1. Look for HTTPS at the beginning of the web address, and/or the padlock symbol.
   This shows the site you are using is encrypting data so your information will be kept private
2. Use trusted brands with a good reputation.
   The brands you know are reputable give you confidence they have security measures in place to protect your data.
3. Pay with a credit card rather than debit card.
   Credit cards typically offer consumers added protection when purchasing online.
4. Use a secure online payment service – like PayPal.
   Your bank/card details remain private from the retailer you are purchasing from with payment passing via a trusted payment service.
5. Never pass personal data or payment information when using public Wi-Fi.
   Public Wi-Fi networks are not secure and are an easy target for cyber criminals to attack. Use mobile data when out and about or stick with your own secure Wi-Fi connection at home.

You may also find this related article of interest… Electronic media – data disposal and destruction