Online shopping has many great benefits. Stores are always open, there are no crowds to deal with– no lines and no waiting! Also, online shopping makes it easy to research and compare products before making a decision. Not to mention you can easily find great deals with the click of a mouse and have them shipped to your house in a hurry!

Forbes magazine reported, “51% of Americans prefer online shopping, with e-commerce growing 23% year-over-year.” With online shopping on the rise, cybercriminals have taken note. Be sure to check out our top tips for keeping your information secure while taking advantage of the many benefits of online shopping.

1. Avoid public and un-secure wireless networks — they are open to anyone and could contain malicious viruses.
2. Decline the “save and auto-fill” option during checkout – although convenient, this can put you at greater risk in the event of a data breach, because hackers can gain full access to all of your saved information.
3. Look for websites with a URL containing “https” or a small lock icon — This means the website is encrypted and has better security measures to protect your information.

Visit our Fraud Prevention Center for more information on the most common fraud scams and how to best protect yourself.