What the Tech: Shopping on a phone safely

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) -Remember a decade or so when almost everyone was scared to shop online?

The idea of putting credit card numbers on the internet was frightening and many people swore they’d never do it. Just about all of those people do at least some Christmas shopping online. While that may not be a problem, hackers see all of that money going between phones and the internet as an opportunity. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you shop with your phone:

1. Shopping or doing any banking on public WiFi opens the possibility of something called a “man in the middle” attack. That’s when a hacker who knows what they’re doing, intercepts data on a compromised WiFi network. That can be credit card information, usernames and passwords, and email.

2. If you’re out and shopping on a phone, do not shop on public wifi in a coffee shop, department store, or restaurant. It’s safer using your wireless data plan. Turn off WiFi before you do anything with a credit card or bank account as your phone is likely going to join any WiFi network automatically if you’ve previously logged onto it.

3. Before shopping, update apps and your phone’s latest operating system. These generally include security updates that patch vulnerabilities. If you see a red number, update it. iPhone is currently on ios 18.1.1. The latest update, released just last week, includes critical security updates to block zero-day attacks.

4. Don’t use a debit card and if you have one stored on a shopping site or app, delete it. Debit cards are tied directly to your bank account and once money leaves the account, you likely won’t get it back. If something goes wrong with a credit card, the credit card companies are more likely to help you.

5. Double-check the site you’re shopping. Be skeptical of any ads you see on social media. Some ads are from fake companies that either sell counterfeit items or will simply steal your credit card information. Before buying something from a Facebook ad, email, or a link from a friend, Google the company in a browser. Make sure the ad links to the legitimate website. That can be difficult because fake ads and websites are almost identical to the real thing.

6. The safest way to shop online is at home, on your WiFi network, and using a virtual private network or VPN. And before you shop online, review your passwords to make sure you’re not using the same one for social media that you use for your credit cards.

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