Online shopping provides a sense of convenience for everyone. The fact that we are able to buy goods online without having to physically go out to a store is definitely one of the main appeal for many consumers.

According to the United States Department of Commerce, US e-commerce sales for 2014 were estimated at $304.9 billion, it is an increase of 15.4 percent (±2.3%) from 2013. This shows how consumers are leaning more towards online shopping.

A new survey from NCC Group called Trust in the Internet has revealed that online security concerns are driving down consumer confidence in Internet shopping. They surveyed 10,000 consumers in the US and the UK about their attitudes, behaviors to shopping as well as banking online. The results show that almost eight out of ten people (77%) do not feel very safe when shopping online.

Here are a few guidelines for you to see if a company has worked hard to improve their security:

Use Trusted Websites

 Start by making sure you shop at a trusted site rather than shopping through search engine results. Search results can be rigged to lead you astray, especially when you’re past the first few result pages. If you know the site, chances are it's less likely to be a rip off or a scam. 

• Beware of misspellings or sites using a different top-level domain. For example, if you come across a site such as www.4apple.com  or www.applle.com, chances are it is a knock-off and shady website trying to imitate Apple website.

• To make sure you're on a secure page, check to see that the URL for the page begins with "https://" and not "http://." That "s" lets you know the site is secure. Most browsers will also show a lock icon in the lower right corner of the browser window to let you know you're on a secure site.

Look for the Lock

Never buy anything online using your credit card from a site that doesn't have SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption installed.

You'll know if the site has SSL because the URL for the site will start with HTTPS:// (instead of just HTTP://). Depending on your browser, an icon of a locked padlock will appear in the status bar at the bottom of your web browser or right next to the URL in the address bar. Using the latest version of your browser, the address bar or the name of the site owner will turn green.

Some examples of a secure, trusted website:

Here are some initiatives we recommend you take to protect yourself against possible attacks from cyber criminals:

Immunize Your PC

Protect yourself against malware with regular updates to your anti-virus program. We recommend downloading Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+ to make sure that you are constantly protected from possible malware/phishing attacks. The best part is that it’s 100% FREE!

Clear cache & cookies

When we are online, our browsers store copies of recently visited webpages locally; commonly graphic files and HTML pages. The purpose is to speed up a site’s page loading time the next time you revisit it. A good practice to have is to clean the cache to avoid possible privacy issues. To find out how you can clear your cache and cookies, please click here.

Also, always log out of sites into which you have logged in or registered details.
Simply closing your browser is not enough to ensure privacy. 

Check your credit card statement frequently

Always be sure to look at your credit card and bank statements carefully after shopping online to ensure that the correct amount has been charged as well as making sure that no fraudulent charges are made as a result of the transaction.

Update your browser

Each new version of your Internet browser, especially if you use one of the more popular browsers, gets a boost in security. Older browsers, besides not working as well with some websites, often have holes in their security that hackers have discovered and can exploit.