10 Tips for Secure Online Holiday Shopping from Marietta Police

The Marietta Police Department has released a list of ten helpful tips for secure online shopping during the holiday season.

• While it is okay to browse various sites using a public Wi-Fi connection, it is not recommended to send any personal or financial information over an unsecured connection. Be conscientious of Wi-Fi hotspots and be wary of making any purchases over these connections.

• Before entering any personal or financial information on a site, make sure that you have a secure connection. Look for signs indicating that the site is secure, such as a URL address that begins with "https://" or a closed padlock on your browser's address bar.

• Use familiar websites to ensure that the companies you are shopping from are legitimate, trusted sites.
  
• Check the URL to make sure there are no misspellings.
  
• Research the site before making a purchase to make sure they do not have any bad reviews.
  
• If making purchases on eBay, check the seller's history and reputation.

• Be cautious about what information you provide; a website will never require your social security number or birthdate to make a purchase.

• Before making a purchase, review the seller's return, cancellation and complaint handling policies.

• If possible, make purchases with a credit card instead of a debit card; using a credit card allows you to dispute any fraudulent charges.

• Continually review your credit card and banking statements to assure that your information has not been compromised and that fraudulent purchases have not been made.

• Always print or save copies of your orders to confirm with banking statements and avoid any discrepancies.

• Beware of fraudulent e-mails from scammers posing as banks, shipping companies and sellers, often requesting you to confirm or provide additional information.
  
• Never click on links included in these e-mails.
  
• Contact the company if you believe it to be fraudulent.

• Work with authorities to fight cyber-crime. If you believe that you've been a victim report the incident to the Internet Crime Compliant Center. Marietta citizens can also report their incidents to the Marietta Police Department.