SAN JOSE (KRON) – Shoppers are on the hunt for all the best deals this holiday season.
Cyber Monday is in full swing.
For the special deals, 70 million Americans are expected to take part in online shopping spending about $9.4 billion.
Professor Ahmed Banafa at San Jose State University joined KRON4 to share some tips to avoid scams.
It is important to use:
- A secure wifi network
- A secure website with ‘https’ in front
- A credit card, not debit
Professor Banafa says if you receive an email with a link or an attachment, do not click it. Just go straight to a reputable website.
It is also advised to enable purchase alerts and disable international purchases. In this case, it will prevent purchases from being made internationally if someone does get ahold of your credit card information.
Be aware of the ‘super’ deals! For instance, if you see an item on sale for a couple of hundred dollars on one site but more than a thousand on another, this deal may be too good to be true.
Banafa says to stay on the safe side and go to websites that you are familiar with.
A third party payment option, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Pay Pal, is also recommended by Banafa to be better protected.
He says these companies are working to solve a trust problem because if there is no trust, then no one will go shopping online.
For Giving Tuesday, Banafa says the same rules apply. Be sure to give money to a well-known organization that will use the money and not abuse it.
Keep your eyes open and happy shopping!
For the full interview and more details from Professor Banafa, watch the interview above.
