Have you ever asked yourself the safest ways to buy online using your cell phone? If the answer is yes, we’ve got you covered! We’ll present you with some tips that can help the user not to take risks during the online shopping process.
In times of social isolation, lots of people are shopping on their cell phones for the first time. However, it is still common for us to be afraid of this type of transaction, after all, we provide our credit card number and this creates some risks.
We spoke with Evelyn Balyton, which is an expert when it comes to financial transactions for specific online platform – particularly within the Online Cricket Betting ID -. Although this article won’t be gambling-focused, Balyton wrote these security tips that will pass as an overall guideline for online shopping as well. You can check her out here.
Table of Contents
Protect your phone with antivirus
First of all, it is essential that you have an antivirus installed on your phone.
Often, some websites or applications have a deceptive interface, simulating some reliable platform, and this goes unnoticed by our eyes. In such cases, an antivirus will alert you to the dangers, keeping you away from malicious websites.
Research the company’s reputation
If your purchase is large, it is essential to research the company’s reputation beforehand.
With a brief search on the internet, you will be able to find out if the company has a problem that has affected customers in the past. Also, see the comments, how long they have been selling online, and online users’ past experience with them.
Pay attention to the details on the pages
If you buy from an unsecured website, you can expose your credit card details. Therefore, it is important to read the website’s policies. Few people do this, so a quick way to check the security of the page and how it protects your data is through the address.
Make sure the link starts with “HTTPS”. This acronym ensures that the site has a secure protocol and is usually accompanied by a small lock on the side (depending on your browser).
Avoid shared networks
Never shop on your cell phone using public or shared internet networks. The mere fact of having someone on the same network can already pose risks.
So, even if you are using your home’s Wi-Fi network, before entering your card details, check to see if someone is stealing your internet. Of course, that also includes not shopping on other people’s cell phones.
Give preference to sites that use trusted platforms
Payments over the internet can be processed by the company in which you make the purchase or by any financial platform external to the site.
If the payment is processed by the company itself, it causes more security risks than sites that use third-party platforms, as these are specialized in data security and give more confidence to the consumer.
Count on a suspicious link detector
Hackers create fake pages very similar to the original ones. So, at the slightest sign of doubt, use a website that can check if the link is malicious, such as “dfndr lab”. The tool is free and can be used by anyone, as many times as necessary.
When you receive a link via WhatsApp, SMS, or Facebook, you can touch the message by pressing your finger for a few seconds and then choose the copy option. Then, just open the dfndr lab and paste the link in the space indicated on the website to analyze if it is true.
Do these same tips go for Sports Betting?
In short, yes. Each and every aforementioned security tip goes for basically every online activity you may come across online that involves financial transactions. However, you can still make sure you pick the best payment methods that are accepted by the bookie you’ll play at.
It’s impossible not to mention VISA and MasterCard, as these companies are absolute gigantic in this market. However, there are yet other safe methods you can trust if you’re not into the so-called big-two.
Boku is one of those that can be trusted, and although it can be somewhat hard to find boku betting sites out there, it’s still a good shot in case you bump into a bookie that takes it as a valid payment method.
Conclusion
Throughout this article, we’ve gone through very important cybersecurity aspects, such as:
- TheimportanceofRunningAntivirus
- ThePowerofWebResearching
- Anti-ScammyWebsites
- Public Networks – A No-go zone
Although we mentioned sports betting here, we could have done so by shopping on famous e-commerce companies, or with other similar activities that involve your personal data.
Follow these steps, and you’ll be much safer, although there are no risk-free methods, as hackers are improving their cybercriminal skills day by day, so should you do for your personal online safety.
