The National Retail Federation estimated that 126.9 million shoppers were planning to shop online on CyberMonday. The holiday weekend surprise for many was just how many people shopped via mobile devices. Mobile accounted for 52.1% of all online shopping traffic and 27.9% of sales on Thanksgiving according to IBM’s Smarter Commerce team.
That’s a lot of people trying to get good deals online while pretending to be productive at work on Monday! There’s plenty of online shopping to be done, though. (You remembered to get Uncle Larry a gift, right? No?)
Here are 5 Geek Squad tips for consumers:
* Be wary of crazy deals and too good to be true links in your email inbox – You’ve heard it a 100 times, but the truth is, it’s still a common way to get scammed online.
* Avoid public WiFi for shopping, like at that coffee shop at the mall. It’s important to remember that you’re sharing that network with everyone else at that location, and there’s always the possibility of someone watching data on that network for sensitive information like credit cards in the same way they might peek over your shoulder from the table nearby.
* While convenient, uncheck settings to “remember your credit card info” It’s just one less bit of your information available to anyone that gets access to your account on those servers.
* Mobile Devices are vulnerable, too – get the latest software updates for your smartphone, just like you do for your personal computer.
* Safeguard all your devices – If you haven’t, put a passcode on it to prevent a potential thief from getting access to your data should your phone get stolen while out shopping.
Once those gifts start arriving, visit geeksquad.com/techtips for how-to videos and tips for many of the most popular tech gifts this holiday season.
