Black Friday cybersecurity

As a ‘go-to’ name in the data breach compensation industry, we were asked by the I Paper to provide them with a list of Black Friday cybersecurity tips. We were more than happy to help.

As featured in the I Paper today, we have provided a list of safety tips for shoppers this Black Friday which also applies to the coming Cyber Monday. As great as deals can be for shoppers, in today’s age of cyberattacks and data exposure, consumers need to be careful.

You can read the tips in today’s print edition of the I Paper. We’ll also outline the basis of the information for you here as well under headings with some additional information.

Black Friday cybersecurity – top tips for safety

When it comes to Black Friday cybersecurity safety tips, one of the first things you should do is know who you are shopping with!

Check that there’s a padlock in the address bar which shows that the connection to the site should be secure. We also recommend that you find the deals yourself as opposed to following ‘deals’ freon dodgy emails that you will probably receive. Black Friday and Cyber Monday is a prime time for some easy phishing efforts, and hackers can create copy websites to look like the real thing that you are then being linked to in these kinds of emails.

You are far better searching for a site yourself, and you should also check out any terms and conditions on websites so you know how your data will be used and shared. This can help you to spot bad sites, and you should always be careful about what you are being asked to share online as well.

Security first!

To avoid any Black Friday cybersecurity mishaps, you should always pay close attention to your own security set up.

When setting up accounts, use different passwords for different platforms, and make sure passwords contain a combination of upper case, numbers and special characters (if possible). Further, make sure any devices you use (PC, laptop, tablet, phone) are up-to-date in terms of official software updates, as they may contain important security patches for known vulnerabilities.

The same goes for apps as well.

Financial precautions

There are a few things you can do to ensure that you’re more secure and more vigilant when it comes to your financial affairs.

Using a credit card for purchases can be beneficial as the protections for refunds for bad purchases or refunds of monies if a card is compromised can be far better as opposed to when it’s real money from a debit account. You should also keep an eye on your finances by using official banking apps and sites to be vigilant to spot transactions that may not look legitimate. Even keeping an eye on your credit score for dips is a useful tool as this could indicate suspicious activity.

These kinds of precautions can go a long way to compliment your Black Friday cybersecurity arsenal. Although it’s always better to prevent an incident in the first place, it’s good to know how to safeguard yourself if a breach does take place.

People’s information – and therefore their security data – can be easily compromised when organisations are hacked. The BA Group Action for victims who were subject to last year’s cyberattacks is a good example of where financial precautions can save you a great deal of misery when your data is exposed through no fault of your own.

An additional tip: social media profiles

It can also help to keep your online social media image (i.e. how you are portrayed through information) secure. Consider having high privacy settings to stop fraudsters learning so much about you that they could then try and contact you or hack into your accounts.

This also ties in with having complex passwords. If your password is your partner’s name and this is visible to strangers on social media, you could be easily hacked. If your password is a combination of their name and your date of birth which is visible, software can be used by hackers to try combinations of information to break into accounts.

Be wary of friend requests around this time of year from people you don’t know as well.

When things do go wrong…

A Black Friday cybersecurity incident – or one on Cyber Monday – may still take place and may occur through no fault of your own whatsoever.

Where this happens, you could be entitled to make a claim for data breach compensation, and that’s where we can help.

Make sure you speak to our team for free, no-obligation advice about your options for justice. We can offer No Win, No Fee arrangements for claims, and our vast experience as Data Leak Lawyers can pave the way to justice when you have been wronged.

Thanks again to the I Paper for the request! We hope readers will benefit from the advice in the paper and here online.

Stay safe this Black Friday and coming Cyber Monday!

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