Common things to avoid during an online transaction

Online fraud and identity theft have become more common due to the rapid growth of online commerce and banking during the Internet era. Internet users can take several precautions to boost their online security, but online business is always dangerous. You can easily avoid these risks if you take the appropriate safeguards. You can easily book flights and hotels using online banking. Below mentioned are the common things to avoid during online transactions:

Making transactions using a Wi-Fi connection:

There may be occasions when you need to complete an online transaction, yet your mobile data is about to expire. In such circumstances, avoid accessing any hotspots or public Wi-Fi connections involving strangers. Using Wi-Fi connectivity, hackers have several times infiltrated smartphones with malware or other programs. You should avoid these dubious sources when making online money transfers since they can potentially steal your bank account information.

Charging mobile phones in public stations:

To prevent falling victim to juice jacking, a cybercrime in which a USB cable is used to steal data, you should never charge your smartphone at a public charging station. Bringing your own charging wire is advised. You can easily do money transfers using online transactions. 

Clicking on suspicious links:

Often, you receive a variety of links in the form of clickbait, most of which are given by cybercriminals or hackers. They set you up so that you would feel pressured to click on the transaction-related links so they can later obtain your personal information. Before clicking on any of these links, it is best to verify their URLs. 

Sharing your details:

You should never give anybody your ATM PIN or other private financial information. You should always be mindful of who might be watching your passwords, even when not using them for transactions. Social media sites are not where to ask for assistance because information can be easily leaked there. To maintain the highest level of security, you should also regularly change the passwords associated with your phone number or email address. 

Not using strong passwords:

Most people use the same passwords for various important transactions, such as credit cards and net banking, just to make things easier to remember. This puts their password security at risk. Make sure your passwords are alphanumeric for every transaction.

Avoid replying to emails:

Never reply to emails that offer discounts. Retail companies may be sending you a lot of promotional emails. However, it is always advised to use the seller’s website directly when using such deals rather than entering your information in the coupon link, which third parties typically provide.

Ignoring security updates:

Installing Android security updates on your smartphone is highly recommended. They address bugs and other issues and help reduce the danger of cyberattacks. The most recent operating system includes security patches that are probably hard for hackers to bypass. 

Partial words:

After completing a money transfer, always log out of both your bank and merchant accounts. Don’t store bank passwords on your computer at all. Don’t give your smartphone’s apps extra permissions. Examine thoroughly before granting any app permissions.