With so many different online department stores available, it is important to know how to go about choosing the right one as well as making sure you are taking the necessary safety precautions to protect you against potential scams.

Use Well Known Websites
The best place to start when choosing an online department store is to find out which ones are the most popular and familiar to you. When using a search engine to find your online department store, it’s advised to use what is found on the first page of results on your chosen search engine.

There is a far smaller chance that the suggested results given on the first page are going to be scams or rigged so that your personal details can be stolen.

Make Sure Not To Give Away Too Much Information
There will never be a time when an online department store will ask you for irrelevant information such as your social security number for example. If you see this then you should be very wary, since huge amounts of damage can be caused if a scam site gets hold of your credit card details combined with other bits of important personal information. Make sure to only provide the bare essentials that are required for making a purchase.

Creating Strong Passwords
It is important to make your passwords as uncrackable as possible. Here is a brief list of some advice that can help you.

• Use different passwords for different sites.
• Try changing your passwords every month.
• Avoid using common terms such as “Love” or “Money”
• Try spelling certain words backwards
• Throw in a random capital letter
• Use characters (+,^,#)

Try Do Your Online Shopping At Home
Try not to make purchases on a public computer. If your forget to log out before you leave you could find yourself in a lot of trouble. Even when using your own computer when in public, there is a chance someone could get vital information by quickly glancing over your shoulder.

Try Recognising Scams
If you see a deal online that is too good to be true, then there is a very good chance that it is. There are a few companies that have complied comprehensive lists on what to look out for when trying to spot scams. Ignore companies offering free popular products as well as “Holiday job offers” which can be used to hack into your social media.

Justin wrote this article after doing research for an online department store Ireland and wanted to share this information.