At a time where a ton of discounts are flying around, it’s easy for online shoppers to get distracted, act more impulsively and subsequently become more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Cybercriminals know that many people lower their guards or turn a blind eye to the dangers of cyber-attacks completely in a bid to get the best deals.
Whilst Black Friday is a great time to save money on purchases, consumers, and employees should also remember what they can do to stay safe online. Here are some of our top cybersecurity tips to keep you safe this Black Friday season.
Watch out for suspicious emails and text messages
Cybercriminals know it’s an easy time to trick both individuals and businesses and exploit the high volumes of consumer spending by sending more phishing emails and text messages. If you receive a text message or an email that you haven’t signed up to receive, or if it looks suspicious in any way (e.g., the company logo looks different or there are misspellings in the text), do not click on any of the links within it. Instead, delete it straight away.
If you’re a business worried about the dangers of phishing emails, we provide Phishing Simulation & Awareness Training to increase your employee’s awareness of cybersecurity and reduce the chances of a cyber-attack. Learn more.
Keep your passwords strong
To keep cyber criminals at bay, use strong passwords that contain a random combination of both uppercase and lowercase, symbols, and numbers. Never re-use the same passwords either; your login credentials for your accounts should all be different from one another. Most websites will also allow you to set up multi-factor authentication – you should set this up on every website you are able to. Your passwords are your first line of defence against a cyber-attack, but a strong password is not always enough!
Looking for a simple solution to protect all of your corporate passwords? We provide Password Management software packed with world-class security features to protect businesses of all sizes, in any industry. Learn more.
Purchase with PayPal
Where possible, use PayPal as your chosen payment method for extra security. As PayPal’s website is encrypted, your bank and card information is safely stored in a vault to protect you from fraudulent activity. If something were to happen, you won’t need to cancel your cards – you can simply re-secure your PayPal account by changing your password. Don’t forget to enable two-factor authentication for maximum protection.
