Online shopping fraud is not a thing that happens to someone else, while you think you are safe in your cosy environment and would be a target.

It goes the same for online identity theft and both are on the rise.

While hackers and fraudsters are developing new hacking methods, many online shoppers are still unaware of basic online privacy rules.

A recent survey conducted by NordVPN (Virtual Private Network) found that as many as one third of respondents believe that various activities – such as checking email, logging into a social media account, shopping online or checking a bank account – are safe on public WiFi.

While it is not an open field where you will be mobbed by hackers, there are impending risks in doing so without having a strong password, and making sure you are logging into a HTTPS based url for your financial transactions and possibly use a Virtual Private Network or VPN.

These are among the salient tools you will need while going about checking a bank account on a public hotspot – which is assumed to be very risky (less than 2% agree that is safe), while entering banking credentials to make a purchase online is seen as a lesser risk (23% think it is safe).

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There is a lack of understanding among users just how vulnerable they can be on public networks.

But really, who would take such a risk to open their banking app while logging in onto a public hotspot?

 

E-commerce merchants will be spending $9.2 billion annually in fraud-detection by 2020, up 30 percent from current spending, according to Juniper Research.

The number of U.S. identity-theft victims rose to a record 15.4 million last year from 13.1 million in 2015.

Seriously, online fraud usually happens when people are not careful with their online activities – not using strong passwords, entering credit card information without making sure the website is not a fake, and doing any online transaction on unsecured hotspots..

Besides, one need to be wary since being vigilant can help you a lot with the task of shopping online securely.

Stay away from public terminals

It cannot be stressed enough how dangerous it is to share your personal or financial information with any website or any person over the internet while using a public internet connection.

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Public Wi-Fi networks are common hunting grounds for attackers and data snoopers who try to access your personal information and use it for their benefit at your expense.

Since public networks have negligible security, you should try and avoid using them while making online payments. If you must do online transactions while using a public network, then you have to use a VPN to stay safe.

Use a VPN?

What is that? VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) encrypt Internet traffic on any website. They are the best security mechanism you can employ to make sure your Internet traffic is safe from prying eyes and remains confidential.

NordVPN is one of the most advanced VPNs on the market (in North America) that uses the latest encryption protocols.

From the moment a user turns on NordVPN, their Internet data becomes encrypted. It becomes invisible to third party snoopers or hackers and even NordVPN.

Being based in Panama, which is Internet-friendly country and does not require data storage or reporting, NordVPN keeps no user logs.

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Bywftv