Colombia. With the rise of digital platforms and e-commerce, Colombians take the opportunity to make purchases with the best discounts; for this reason the recommendations are useful every day, especially to make this type of purchases online.
Next Monday, November 19, dozens of technology, clothing, tourism, home, sports, health and beauty stores will launch discounts for purchases on the Internet so that Colombians take advantage of the low prices for 48 hours. Recently, the Colombian Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CCCE), highlighted that it expects this Cyber Monday an increase of 47.93 percent over the previous version of 2016, additional reported that 35 percent of Colombian companies sell their products through the internet.
However, remember that cybercriminals pay special attention to these events and seek to commit the highest number of crimes on the Internet such as stealing information or conducting unwanted transactions on behalf of their victims.
For this reason, the cybersecurity expert and leader of the CyberAcademy learning platform of Gamma Ingenieros, Alvaro Alexander Castillo, highlights that it is advisable to follow some steps to make intelligent use of credit cards and online purchases.
1. Secure purchase. Are you sure what you are going to buy? It sounds a bit obvious, but it really is important to find out well about the product or service you are going to acquire. The description or photos you have seen elsewhere may not correspond to reality. If you have any questions, ask the seller directly or look for information on other buyer pages of the same product /service to be completely sure.
2. Secure networks. Avoid shopping online using public connections or devices: If you are away from your home or office, it is recommended that you do not use public networks to make online purchases, either from a free Wi-Fi zone or a computer that many people use, such as an Internet café. Doing so will put you at high risk of cybercriminals intercepting your data and capturing passwords and personal or financial information. If you need to connect from the outside, it is preferable that you use a mobile phone data network.
3. Strong passwords. Do your best to use strong passwords in your shopping portals: in general, online stores require a username and password to be able to make a purchase. For this reason, the expert of the company Gamma Ingenieros emphasizes that it is important that you use passwords mixing uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers or special characters, such as asterisks or arrobas, for your accounts. It is recommended that these passwords are different from the ones you usually use in your emails or social networks.
4. Known portals. Be sure to enter secure websites. The address of the site you buy from must be spelled correctly, for example, www.compras.com and not www.coompras.com. In addition, you should always start with https:// and you should have a closed padlock on the left side of that same address. This means that the data is encrypted, that is, it is transmitted in a way that is understood only by the user and the online store. In addition, you can be sure that this page belongs to the company or person from whom you want to buy.
5. Warranty included. Buy from portals that give you guarantees when purchasing a product or service. In addition to making sure that the page is reliable, you should verify that the seller offers you the possibility to track your purchases and that they manage warranty policies so that you are satisfied with the products and / or services purchased.
6. Personal data. It is important to verify that you are in the right place. If you are asked for personal information, validate how necessary it is to make the purchase. Try to use security tools to validate the legality of the portals and deliver necessary information.
7. Credit Cards. After making purchases online, it is advisable to frequently check the movements of credit cards in order to avoid identity theft. If you discover any strange movement in your bank account, you should contact the bank.
8. Updates. Before making any purchase, make sure your computer is up to date and has an antivirus. Please note that online purchases request important information and/or file downloads.
Remember that it is necessary to acquire knowledge and good practices in cybersecurity in order to prevent criminals from stealing your information or committing other crimes against you.
