Reduce online shopping risks this Black Friday and Cyber Monday with advice from BSI

Many retailers have shared sales previews in advance of Black Friday and Cyber Monday with promises of great savings for shoppers both in-store and online. Observing safe online shopping practices during these peak sales events will not only protect data, strengthen resilience, but will also reduce the likelihood of a fraudulent transaction taking place.

The BSI global centre of excellence for Cybersecurity and Information Resilience has outlined the following seven tips for secure online shopping during the biggest sales events of the year:

— Stick to trusted websites: Always check for security symbols e.g. closed padlock symbol at checkout page on the web browser address bar, which indicates that your data will be encrypted when transmitted.

— Keep software and passwords updated: Do regular checks for upgrades to your device operating system or software and install these. Make sure you have the latest updates for anti-spyware and anti-malware programs to ensure that nobody can track your internet use or infect your device. Likewise, it’s important to make sure that you regularly update your passwords to increase your safety online.

— Be cautious when responding to emails: If you are unsure of an email that is asking for your personal details, especially if they appear to come from a reputable retail website, your bank or service provider don’t respond to them. Get verification from the outlet first. Validate information shared via emails or newsletters by visiting the retailer’s website, manually typing the website’s address in the address bar. If an email deal seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

— Set up credit card alerts and keep records of purchases: When a purchase is made over a certain amount you will receive an alert, keeping you up to date on your account transactions and safety. You should also review all bank account transactions regularly and keep electronic receipts of any online purchases.

— Share only basic personal data when making a payment: Only share the information that is needed to complete the purchase and avoid giving your bank account details. Use your payment card but don’t let the website store these details. The fewer sites that have your credit card details, the better.

— Transparency obligations and tick boxes: If you have a concern about your personal data, read the website’s privacy notice first. Companies are obliged to provide you with a detailed notice at the point of data collection. Many companies will try to get your permission to send emails and newsletters or to pass on your details to third parties. If you don’t want this, make sure you tick or untick the box as relevant during the buying process.

— Beware of public computers and public Wi-Fi: When using public computers, always log out, clear history, and close the browser tabs individually when you are finished. When on free Wi-Fi, avoid giving personal or payment information and choose to browse using the ‘public browsing’ setting when available. When possible, use a VPN tunnel to a trusted network.

“Our advice is ultimately about making everyone cyber security-aware when shopping online and to be alert to the potential risks. Many shoppers will research retailers and whether their deals are legitimate, but there will be those that will simply click purchase straight away to grab a great deal. Having immediate access to purchases on mobile devices and through social media has increased instant purchases and customers may end up purchasing from an illegitimate website or give too much of their data away unnecessarily,” says Stephen Scott, Senior Manager of Cybersecurity and Information Resilience Services at BSI.

“This peak shopping period presents many opportunities for consumers and retailers however, cybercriminals will be looking out for opportunities to take advantage, as people tend to share their payment details without doing appropriate due diligence. According to figures from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland’s (BPFI) FraudSMART initiative, 70* per cent of card fraud takes place online. While payment security has increased this year with the introduction of PSD2, to further enhance this, a shopper should also take responsibility and look out for anything that may look suspicious to keep their personal and financial data secure.” concludes Stephen.

BSI Cybersecurity and Information Resilience provide a range of solutions to help organizations address their information challenges covering cybersecurity, information management and privacy, security awareness, and compliance and testing. For more information visit https://www.bsigroup.com/cyber-ie.