Whether you choose to allow your employees to shop online during work hours is up to you. But with more workers connecting remotely these days, and with “real world” retail opportunities restricted, online shopping is enjoying a boom like never before.
It’s likely that employees may occasionally be tempted to order groceries or a new pair of shoes on their lunch breaks, using company devices or network connections. So it makes sense to review these online shopping safety guidelines, both for yourself and employees, in order to combat the risks.
Look for the lock symbol. Safe, encrypted websites will display the lock symbol or “https” in the address bar (usually both). Don’t use unsafe websites at all; not only is your credit card information at risk, your network might be, too.
Never use public Wifi connections for online shopping. Your credit card data and other personal information that you enter could theoretically be viewed by anyone else on that network. You could also pick up a nasty virus from these connections, putting work devices at risk.
If it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t true. This is the rule to remember, with regard to online shopping. Scams are often fairly obvious in hindsight.
Be careful with emails. Remind employees not to click on “special offers” in emails. These often appear tempting for a reason. The point isn’t necessarily to sell you something, but to direct you to a malware-infested phony site.
Use a credit card, not a debit card. If there is a problem with the purchase, credit cards offer more protection. Using a debit card could put your entire bank account at risk.
Update your security software when prompted. As vulnerabilities are discovered, software developers release updates. But those problems within your system won’t be addressed unless you install the updates.
Use a secure firewall. Check your firewall settings and ensure that it’s secure. For more help with this, contact us at 888-RING-MY-TECH and we’ll walk you through the process.
