MACON, Ga. — We survived Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and we are in the midst of Cyber Monday.
Kelvin Collins with the Better Business Bureau of Central Georgia says we need to be extra safe when we're shopping online, especially during this time of year.
"This year, Black Friday kind of ran into Cyber Monday because there's are so many people shopping online. Most people have been shopping online, and in doing that, you do open yourself up to making purchases on websites you're not familiar with, so it does present an opportunity for scam artists," said Collins.
"So when you are shopping and you're looking at these links, make sure if the deal is just too good to be true, be very careful how you pay for things, so if you see a site that's requesting you to pay for a product with a gift card, a prepaid debit card, a CashApp, those are usually good signs -- so make sure you're using a credit card, PayPal, one of those normal ways you pay for things," he explained.
As far as secure websites, there are some things that shoppers need to be looking for to make sure that the sites are legitimate.
Collins continued, "Look at the URL -- a secure link is going to have https://, and that 'S' stands for 'security.' You want to make sure you're not putting in any personal information if it's not a secure site. That means they're encrypting your information and it's not just out there for anyone to get. Always look for that. Make sure you're reading the fine print -- those terms and conditions that no one likes to read. When you're purchasing online, you're bound by those terms and condition."
The devil is in the details, and these are great practices, not just at Christmas, but all year long. For more information, visit the BBB's website.