The sales have already started. After the Christmas holidays, most retailers are launching promotions to boost winter sales. This is when we can come across interesting discounts in physical stores and online alike With digitalisation, many people are choosing online shopping as a way to hunt for bargains in the sales. With just one click, you can purchase any product or service, comfortably, from anywhere, through a device with an Internet connection. All these advantages mean that e-commerce is on the rise, especially in the wake of the pandemic. However, there are also potential threats when we shop online because of fraudulent websites or offers.

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To ensure that you can shop with complete peace of mind, here are some cybersecurity tips that you should follow in your day-to-day life, especially during the sales. Take note of these recommendations when shopping online.

  • Be wary of promotions you receive by email, WhatsApp or social networks: these days, you may receive exclusive promotions and offers by different means. Be wary of emails and messages from which you do not know the sender, and if you are interested in the offer, before clicking on any link, we recommend visiting the official website of that shop or brand directly to check if the offer is real.
  • Activate your card’s online purchase option only when you are going to make a purchase: institutions such as Banco Sabadell allow users to activate the online purchase option when they wish to make a payment and deactivate it once the transaction has been completed.
  • Buy only from trusted websites: Online shopping must be reliable and secure. To check that this is the case, locate a green or white padlock that should appear in the address bar. You can also look to see if the merchant URL starts with ‘HTTPS’.
  • Research the online shop before you buy: Always check the shipping costs, return policy and customer service among other things.
  • Avoid using public Wi-Fi networks when shopping online: these networks do not usually require authentication to connect to them, and this makes us more exposed as we do not know who else is connected at the same time and whether they have malicious intentions.
  • Protect your passwords: use unique, distinct and strong usernames and passwords for each of the accounts you use to make your purchases. If possible, enable a second authentication factor on the platforms where you are going to perform them to strengthen security when accessing.
  • Always keep your devices up to date and have an active antivirus installed: this is a basic strategy to minimise the risk of being infected by malware.
  • Be cautious when providing bank details for purchases, take into account our recommendations above.
  • Turn to your trusted bank: in the event of detecting a suspicious movement, notify your bank immediately. At Banco Sabadell, we give you the option of notifying us directly from the app of any movement you consider suspicious.

We remind you that our customer service and phishing team is available 24×7 to help you every day of the year at 963 085 000, at info@bancsabadell.com or on our social networks (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram)