How to avoid Phishing attacks when shopping online

One method widely used by hackers to steal on the Internet is Phishing . It is widely used in online purchases, to steal bank information, cards or payment methods. In this article we are going to explain how this threat works for e-commerce and how you can protect yourself to avoid being robbed when making a purchase online.

avoid Phishing attacks when shopping online

How Phishing Works

What exactly is Phishing when buying online ? Basically it is a bait that the attacker will use to steal the information. They can steal data from a bank account, card, an account like PayPal from which you are going to make a payment, etc. It may even simply seek to steal the password of the platform you use to buy, such as Amazon or eBay.

It can be a message that we receive by SMS, an email or even through social networks like Facebook or instant messaging like WhatsApp. That link will generally pretend to be a legitimate platform . For example, it can simulate being the page to log in to Amazon or eBay, a portal to make an online payment through a bank card, PayPal, etc.

When we log in, when we make the payment or enter any data, in reality we are not going to be sending it to the legitimate server of Amazon, eBay or our bank; we are actually sending that information to a server controlled by cyber criminals. This is how it obtains our personal data and the Phishing attack is carried out in electronic commerce .

Once they have the personal data, the attacker will be able to access our account, use the card data to make fraudulent payments or buy products in our name with our Amazon account or any other platform that they have been able to impersonate without us noticing. bill.

If we take into account that today it is very common to make payments and purchases over the Internet, cybercriminals have a great opportunity here. They can throw baits so that the victim falls into the trap. Also, not all Internet users have the knowledge to prevent these attacks, so they may be more successful.

El Phishing es ahora más peligroso

Tips to avoid it

After explaining how Phishing works in e-commerce, we are going to give a series of recommendations to avoid being robbed when buying online . Simply by following a few tips you can be protected from identity theft or seeing your bank details end up on the Dark Web.

Common sense

Undoubtedly the most important thing to avoid Phishing when buying online is common sense. These types of attacks will require the interaction of the victim. The attacker needs us to click on a link, log in, or enter data that he is then going to steal. If we don’t fall into the trap, if we don’t make mistakes, that attack never gets executed.

Take, for example, an email you receive with a link to sign in to Amazon to supposedly get a gift voucher. If you ignore that e-mail, if you don’t click on any links, you will never be attacked. You just delete that email and it goes into oblivion.

Therefore, it is essential to use common sense and not make mistakes of any kind. You should avoid logging in from links that are not directly on the official website or making a payment from platforms that do not inspire trust. You should also avoid making purchases when connected to unsecured wireless networks.

Use only official apps

Of course you should only use official applications. This is important in order to avoid using software that could have been maliciously modified simply to steal information. For example an application to make purchases online or transfer money. It may pretend to be legitimate software, from a bank or any online platform, but it is actually a scam.

Whenever you are going to install an application for e-commerce, whatever it is, you should only download it from reliable sources . To do this, you can go to the official page of that program or service, as well as use official stores such as Google Play. In this way you will avoid installing a program that can be dangerous and with which they could steal your personal data.

Have good security programs

To avoid Phishing when buying online, although it is not something that by itself becomes a defensive barrier, it does help a lot to have a good antivirus . This can help detect malicious sites you are visiting or downloading files that are actually malware and can be used to steal passwords or bank details.

Therefore, you should always install an antivirus. For example, we talk about some options such as Windows Defender, Avast or Bitdefender. However, there are many free and paid alternatives. You should always have a security program installed, no matter what operating system you use.

You can also count on firewalls or even browser add-ons, beyond just an antivirus. There are many options available and all of them have their positive points to create a good defense.

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keep everything up to date

Another essential point is to have everything well updated. On many occasions, hackers will take advantage of vulnerabilities and bugs to steal data or compromise security when browsing the Internet or making a payment. Fortunately, this has an easy solution, since it basically consists of installing the latest versions.

In the case of Windows, for example, you can update it simply by going to Start, entering Settings and clicking on Windows Update . This will allow you to have the latest versions available and correct any errors that may appear. It is something that you should apply to any operating system you use.

Actualizar Windows 11

Also, you should never use an outdated program to shop online or make a payment. An attacker could take advantage of a security breach and intercept those transactions without your knowledge.

Use secure payment methods

The payment method you use may also make you more or less at risk. The fake pages that seek to steal your bank details do not usually allow payment by methods such as PayPal or cards, since they have protection. Therefore, you should always use methods that are really secure and keep your data safe.

A good idea is to use reloadable bank cards . To buy online they are very interesting, since you only put the exact money that you are going to need and that’s it. In case of an attack, they could not steal more money from you than what you have selected at that moment for payment.

In short, as you have seen, Phishing when buying online is a very important problem. You can take into account these recommendations that we have shown so as not to take risks and be protected at all times.