Every year, the retail tradition of Black Friday resonates throughout the Thanksgiving season and beyond. Black Friday can be a veritable cornucopia of deals and opportunities for customers and retailers. However, customers and retailers aren't the only ones seeing a bounty of opportunities this holiday season. Scammers are also in the mix and see a plethora of opportunities, including defrauding your senior loved one. Read on for our simple guide to help you and your senior shop online safely on Black Friday (and every day).
Look for Secure Sites
The majority of transactions that occur online utilize credit cards or debit cards. In order to protect your credit card information, and potentially your bank account and personal information, one of the most important things you, and your senior, can do is to look for the lock. This is an icon of a locked padlock that usually appears on the left of the URL browser. This lock lets you know that the website has a secure sockets layer, or SSL, and has encryption installed. Using safe, encrypted, and locked websites can go a long way to ensuring your credit card information is as safe as possible during your online shopping experience.
Create Strong Passwords
Utilizing passwords is one of the simplest things your senior can do to protect their personal information. However, many people do not use proper passwords, thereby leaving their personal information open for attack. In addition, while creating strong passwords is undoubtedly important, so is changing those passwords periodically. Changing the passwords periodically lowers the chance of being hacked and serves as a wall of protection around your senior's personal information.
Do Your Research
Before making a purchase online make sure the vendor you are purchasing from is reputable. This due diligence is important as it will contribute to making sure all of the online transactions your senior engages in are safe. It is important to make sure they are actual vendors and not scammers just out for money. As an added benefit to doing additional research, you may find that your product may be purchased at a lower rate from another vendor. The more research you do on a product the more you know about that product and the more able you are to make a good decision about the product.
Watch out for Crime Scams
Crime scams are becoming increasingly popular. These are scams in which your senior may receive a scary phone call or email saying that your senior's social security number or name was stolen during a crime. The best way to deal with this type of crime scam is to not engage at all with them and let local law enforcement know if it is applicable to do so.
Avoid eCommerce Scams and Cybercrime with Senior Helpers of Hilton Head
Every year more and more people, including seniors, do their shopping online for Black Friday. There is a multitude of opportunities to save money and snag a good deal. However, it is also a time during which many people get into trouble, particularly seniors, who are vulnerable to cybercrime, identity theft, or sophisticated scammers. Contact Senior Helpers of Hilton Head, which serves Hilton Head, Bluffton, and Okatie, to help your senior shop responsibly this holiday season.