We don’t know about you, but we love shopping online for Christmas prezzies. We’ll go searching for inspiration or just to find the best price on a specific item, and often we’ll end up impulse buying including all sorts of stocking fillers that seemed like a good idea at the time! But there is a more serious side to online shopping and this is that consumers, like you, must protect themselves, keep personal details secure and be certain about the retailer you are buying from.

With fuel prices still soaring and the recession showing no signs of lifting, retailers are vying for your custom and as such there are some fantastic bargains out there. Shopping online, especially during the months of November and December, is a great way to beat the crowds, but do try and order early to avoid disappointment with stock availability and delivery times.

Goods bought online now account for over 15% of our total consumer spending here in the UK. Unfortunately this is a statistic that certain elements of society are all too aware of and willing to exploit.

Here are our top ten tips for safe online shopping both at Christmas and throughout the year:

1. Secure your computer – install a firewall and ensure antivirus software is updated. (if you haven’t checked for a while, run an update on your antivirus software now just to be sure)

2. Password protect your home or office network, especially if you’re using a Wireless network, and password protect your PC.

3. Use a high security web browser such as Firefox that checks for trusted URLs

4. Keep all of your passwords and PIN numbers secret. Do not respond to emails that look like they are from your bank asking to update your PIN number or check your address details. If in doubt, telephone your bank or pop into a local branch.

5. Know the merchant. Many of the major high street stores have a website, but if you are ordering from a lesser known company or it’s your first time ordering from a particular website, ensure there is a postal address and landline number. Be sure to also check for shipping and return policies.

6. Ask yourself if the site is genuine. Be wary of misspelt URLs.

7. Try to use a credit card where possible as this offers you extra protection

8. Check that the payment connection is secure and look for the “https://….” in the address bar (the ‘s’ stands for secure). You should also notice a padlock symbol which signifies a secure connection.

9. Often when purchasing from a website you will register a new account or already have an existing account. Once your purchase is complete be sure to Log off from the site when you have finished

10. Where possible, print out details of what you have ordered and check your next bank and credit card statements.

Safe and Happy Shopping!

Recommended Bookmark!: Consumer Direct offer clear and practical advice to UK consumers on all kinds of issues.

Knowing a little bit about the PC you’re purchasing is one of the most important things you can do to make an informed purchase.  Some research will go a long way to getting the most out of your budget and ensuring you buy the right PC for you.

Configuration
The latest greatest super computer with 101 features is all well and good, but aside from being expensive there is a chance it will contain a lot of features that you simply don’t need.  Figure out how much RAM you need (we recommend a minimum of 2Gb especially when running Windows Vista or Windows 7) and how large the hard drive should be (keep in mind that external storage is cheap nowadays so external hard drives, USB memory sticks and DVD discs can also be used for storage . What size of the monitor do you want?  Think about what you’ll be using the PC for. If it’s for watching movies or gaming, a bigger monitor (if you’re budget stretches) might be something worth considering.

Shop around.
Shopping around can save a few pounds especially with the price differences among most retail stores today. Why not start your shopping right here on ShopCompare with our bestselling laptops? Try not go for the first laptop you see or like.  Take time to browse around.

Read testimonials and reviews
Unbiased consumer reviews and editorial reviews will help you decide which brand or model is the best for your budget.  Take time to read computer editorials, consumer comments and manufacturer guides. Consider the positive and negative reviews and weigh up the pros and cons.

Buy online
Buying online will more often than not get you a cheaper price online than offline.  If you find a PC you love online you could always take a print out into a local store and ask if they’ll consider a price match. A word of warning though, many retailers will be unable to match the online price but you can but try! Consider both new to used or refurbished models. Refurbished models are often very reliable and if you shop around there are some fantastic bargains out there for very high spec’d machines!

Hands up if you know what credit card phishing, pharming and skimming is? Do you know how this can effect you and leave you out of pocket? What do you do if you’re a victim of debit or credit card fraud? Who do you speak to? What are your rights? Here, the ShopCompare Shopaholics team take a closer look at practical credit card fraud prevention tips. Firstly, let’s throw some stats at you. Card fraud is said to cost the UK up to £1.2 million PER day. We find that a staggering statistic and one that underlines the ongoing fight against card fraud is very much still in its infancy. Many people don’t know how to spot if they’ve been a victim of card fraud. Do you know what to look out for to ensure your credit card details aren’t being stolen?

Chip-and-pin technology has helped to reduce card fraud but unfortunately the problem remains. There are different types of card fraud;

Card-not-present (CNP) fraud

CNP fraud is the largest kind of card fraud in the UK. CNP fraud occurs because neither the debit or credit card nor the cardholder is present when the transaction takes place. CNP fraud typically occurs over the internet, by telephone, fax and even mail order when criminals obtain debit and credit card details and use them to make one, or in some cases, hundreds of fraudulent transactions.

Card skimming

Card skimming has been much publicised in recent years via consumer shopping shows on TV. This is where criminals will attach card readers and small cameras to cash machines to capture your card details. The small camera films you keying in your pin.

Another method of skimming is when your card is put through a device which electronically copies the data from your card’s magnetic stripe, without your knowledge of course. Restaurants, bars and petrol stations are often found guilty of this due to corrupt employees. Where possible, you should always insist your credit card is kept in full view when making a transaction. Unfortunately with you’ll often be unaware until your next bank statement arrives and you spot several debit or credit card purchases that you have no recollection of making.

Phishing

Chances are you’ve received emails that appear to come from a bank asking you to enter your password or confirm your account details. What happens is that you are then taken to a fake  version of your bank’s website. The number of these ‘phishing’ emails has increased over the last few years despite spam and junk email filters blocking a large number of phishing emails.

Pharming

Pharming uses a computer virus that redirects you to a fake website when you attempt to access your online bank account. For example, you may have your online banking address in your bookmarks. If you have a pharming virus on your PC this may attempt to redirect you to a spook version of your bank’s website and will collect your personal details as you innocently attempt to login to your online bank account.

If you’re a victim of debit or credit card fraud

The first step is to call your card issuer and cancel your cards. Unless you’ve been involved in the fraud, let’s assume the answer to that is most certainly not!, or have been negligent (for example writing down your pin and leaving this  next to your card) then the most you can be liable for fraud on both debit and credit cards is £50.

Further  Info
You can obtain more information on card fraud prevention by visiting Card Watch which is run by the credit card industry body Apacs.