AS PEOPLE make lastminute festive purchases online, they tend to let their guard down, making it an "opportune time for cybercriminals to strike", said Mr Darric Hor, general manager (Singapore and Indonesia) for online security firm Symantec.
So, how can online shoppers fend off cybercrooks?
1. Shop on websites secured by SSL
Some 28 per cent of Singaporeans do not check the privacy policies of organisations they deal with, according to research done by IT-services giant Unisys, which give hints as to how well sensitive information is protected.
Mr Hor advises shoppers to buy only from websites or e-merchants which offer secure transactions.
Mr Ian Selbie, practice director for secure business solutions at Unisys, sais to look out for websites with a graphic of a padlock at the bottom of the screen, which denotes a 'secured gateway'.
2. Beware phishing scams
Both Mr Hor and Mr Selbie warned against sending sensitive data like your credit-card number via e-mail messages.
They added that security software and firewalls have to be updated.
3. Shop where others shop
This is one instance where following the crowd is a good idea.
Mr Hor suggested looking for larger sites like Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Amazon and Cnet, that link to multiple shopping sites.
Try to avoid conducting higher-risk Internet activities, such as online banking or purchases, on shared computers. If you must, "ensure that the cache is cleared and cookies are deleted after use", said Mr Hor.
Besides deleting these details electronically, Mr Selbie advised shredding hard-copy credit-card bills and statements before discarding them - which 19 per cent of Singaporeans do not do.
4. Change your PIN or password regularly for high-risk Internet activities
Mr Selbie said that changing your password regularly provides a safeguard in case someone discovers your password.
This is especially important if you use shared computers.
5. Avoid following links from e-mail messages
Mr Hor advised manually typing in the website address, as you cannot be sure that the links will lead to secure sites.
6. Guard your e-mail inbox
It is wise not to let anyone have access to your account, especially if you have e-mail messages containing passwords that you have just reset, said Mr Selbie.
7. Use credit, not debit
"Credit cards usually offer buyer protection against fraud, lost shipments, broken merchandise and other problems", said Mr Hor.
