Online Holiday Shopping Brings Great Deals – and Fraud This lesson is part of the iKeepCurrent TM Program, provided by iKeepSafe TM

Online Shopping Is Huge Content Created by LOOKBOTHWAYS LLC iKeepSafe © All Rights Reserved Made possible by a grant from WebRoot October 2011 Last year 30 million U.S. internet users shopped online – including 48% of teens aged – And they spent $32.6 billion dollars This year 90% of shoppers expect to shop online, and 13% say they will shop via their mobile phones That’s a lot of money and both stores and crooks want a piece of it

Deal vs. Disaster A good shopping value achieves three things: – A good price – Good service before and after your purchase – Safe experience for your personal and financial identity If your only look at the best price, you risk – Receiving counterfeit or inferior goods – Not receiving your purchase at all – Being unable to return purchase – Having your information stolen, sold or repurposed Content Created by LOOKBOTHWAYS LLC iKeepSafe © All Rights Reserved Made possible by a grant from WebRoot October 2011

1 st Step to Savvy and Safer Shopping Secure your internet environment - This is basic, but less than 1/2 the U.S. population fully protects their computers – and only 4% have secured their tablets or smartphones – Anti-virus and anti-spyware software installed and up- to-date – Make sure your computer’s firewall is on – Encrypt any wireless connection – Never use a public WiFi service for any financial transaction

2 nd Step to Savvy and Safer Shopping Identify trustworthy companies - You need to either know the company – or know their reputation. – If you already know an online store’s reputation you are quite safe – If you don’t know the store, it may still be the best option; just take a few more steps: Search online for reviews from other users Conduct a background check on the company If the store has a lot of negative reviews, DON’T SHOP THERE. Content Created by LOOKBOTHWAYS LLC iKeepSafe © All Rights Reserved Made possible by a grant from WebRoot October 2011

3 rd Step to Savvy and Safer Shopping Learn to avoid scams - The holiday season is the best time for scammers; they know millions of people will spend billions of dollars online. The best way to avoid scams? – NEVER, click on a link in an or on website advertisement no matter how reputable the host website or sender may be – The website ad or may be a really good fake, may have been hijacked by scammers – Instead, find the deal or store yourself Content Created by LOOKBOTHWAYS LLC iKeepSafe © All Rights Reserved Made possible by a grant from WebRoot October 2011

4 th Step to Savvy and Safer Shopping Protect personal information Avoid creating profiles on sites you aren’t going to use weekly – Never store financial info in a profile – Before creating a profile, check the site’s privacy policy If the merchant asks for more information that they need to fulfill your order – don’t give it Content Created by LOOKBOTHWAYS LLC iKeepSafe © All Rights Reserved Made possible by a grant from WebRoot October 2011

5 th Step to Savvy and Safer Shopping Make payments safely via credit card or a payment service – Credit cards limit liability and leave bank accounts untouched – Most debit cards don’t offer protection – if they do, you’re still out of funds in the meantime – You probably don’t have a credit card, so make a deal with a parent or guardian – Or use a payment service like PayPal – Never use checks, cashier’s checks, wire transfers, or money orders; these carry high risks for fraud Content Created by LOOKBOTHWAYS LLC iKeepSafe © All Rights Reserved Made possible by a grant from WebRoot October 2011

6 th Step to Savvy and Safer Shopping Do your research - Just because a store claims to have the lowest price, doesn’t mean they actually have the best deal. Comparing the advertised price of an item doesn’t give you the full picture – look at shipping and tax costs too Check the company’s return policy Look for online coupons or discounts. No matter how great the ‘deal’ if you can’t afford it or it’s over your budget, it isn’t a deal

Takeaways Financial transactions from unsecured devices places you at risk of financial identity theft The lowest price isn’t always the best deal Just because a store claims they’ve got a great deal doesn’t mean it’s the best deal Never provide more personal information than necessary to make your purchase

This iKeepCurrent TM lesson is brought to you by iKeepSafe TM Content Created by LOOKBOTHWAYS LLC iKeepSafe © All Rights Reserved Made possible by a grant from WebRoot October 2011

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