Crucial safety tips to follow when making payments online

Online payments are the new normal, rapidly becoming mainstream, expanding in their scope and reach, redefining the industry and drawing in millions of new adherents from all around the world.

According to a report, the transaction value for the Global Digital Payments Market was $5.44 trillion in 2020, and it is projected to be worth $11.29 trillion by 2026.

This rapid increase in digital payments has also increased the risk of account hacks and cyber theft such as debit card fraud.

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Here are useful tips to safeguard your payments from cybercriminals.

1)    Avoid saving your card details online

This might seem very basic but it is important that you do not save your card details when making payments online. Most people tend to save their card details to avoid entering it again in future but this might pose a great risk and expose you to online theft.

2)    Do not use digital/mobile banking platforms while on a public Wi-Fi/computer

When carrying out online transactions, avoid using public computers or Wi-Fi networks since they are more prone to cyber-attacks. Any information you pass through public Wi-Fi like your login details and PIN/passwords can be accessed and retrieved by anyone who has the technical knowledge to hack into devices. Always use your mobile data to access your bank accounts or carry out transactions.

3)    Use a private window and ensure you are using a secure connection

Ensure you use a private window when carrying out transactions online. Also, ensure you are using a secured connection. The URL for secure connections always begins with https://. This tells you that the connection is secured and they are designed to prevent cookies and credentials from being stored.

4)    Buy from reputed merchants

Before making a purchase online, always read reviews from previous customers about that specific website. It is also good to avoid buying from retailers whose websites are registered with free hosting services. Always shop from reputed sites as big companies would not compromise the security of their websites and they always offer more secure payment gateways.