Online holiday shopping safety tips

My next column will take a look at some things you can do to keep safe when shopping online. While it's always good to be vigilant, the holidays will likely see more newcomers to the world of surfing-for-Santa deals, so it's good for everyone to see these reminders.

Tips to protect against holiday phishing scams:
 
1.    Instead of clicking on the link within the email, type the retailers URL into a new browser window
2.    Call the retailer’s customer service to validate/confirm that the email you received is from them. If you cannot validate it, don’t click on it!
3.    If you accidentally click on the link within an email, do not share your personal information
4.    Never input confidential data into forms embedded within emails
5.    Make sure the shopping sites are valid by looking for the “https” in the URL. All secure sites will have the additional “s”
6.    Never agree to conduct a survey that offers a reward and asks for your personal information
7.    A spam email usually has a bunch of grammatical errors and is generally not personalized
8.    If you don’t recognize or are unsure about the sender of the e-card, don’t click on the link to view it
9.    Never call an 800 number that you find in an email offering and give your personal information to the person on the other end
10.  Keep your anti-virus software up to date for protection from viruses, spyware, Trojans, hackers, and spam
 
Tips courtesy of Trend Micro.