Safe Online Shopping Dayton OH

Consumers continue to increase their use of online holiday shopping, and there is concern that they will be the victims of identity theft.

Online holiday sales are projected to increase 21 percent this year, according to Forrester Research.

Huntington Bank has developed tips so shoppers can have a safe and secure holiday season.

“Huntington’s online banking site continues to be one of the top 10 sites in the country,” Timothy J. Scholten, senior vice president responsible for Huntington’s online banking, said in a statement. “We want to share our expertise with shoppers to give them peace of mind about their online
transactions.”

Huntington’s cyber shopping tips:

- Check accounts daily for any activity you did not initiate. This is especially needed during the busy holiday shopping season. If there is, contact your bank immediately.

- Do business with companies you know and trust. Research a company before revealing personal or financial information online. Confirm an online seller’s physical address and phone number, and if you get an e-mail or pop-up message from the seller asking for financial information, don’t reply
or click on the link. Legitimate companies don’t ask for this information via e-mail or pop-ups.

- Watch out for fake “look-alike” sites. Some con artists disguise their Web site as a well-known company’s site. Check your browser’s address bar to make sure you’re always using the correct Web site address.

- Check a company’s privacy policy before doing business with it. A company should allow you to know what personal information its Web site is collecting, why and how it will be used. If you can’t find a privacy policy -- or if you can’t understand it -- consider taking your business to another
site.

- Only provide personal information if you’re on a secure Web site.  Once you are logged in, make sure the Web address starts with “https” (the “s” means it’s secure). For added safety, check for a site certificate before submitting information on a secure page. Confirm the owner of the certificate by clicking on the padlock icon at the bottom of most browsers. The owner and site address listed should match the Web site address at the top of the page; if they do not match, you may be at a fraudulent Web site and should not enter personal data.

- Never respond to e-mails asking you to “confirm” recent transactions after you shop. These likely are “phishing” scams sent to lure private information from you.

- Maintain a paper trail. Print and save records of your online transactions, including the product description and price, the online confirmation or receipt, and copies of any e-mails you exchange with the seller.

- Do not share your passwords with anyone and never provide your Social Security number, birth date, or mother’s maiden name in an e-mail.

- Make sure all of your security software is up-to-date before you do your online shopping.

- Use a separate e-mail account for your online shopping. You can set up a free e-mail account online through several different services.

For more information visit www.huntington.com