Securing your digital transactions: Strategies to enhance online payment safety

Paying for products, entertainment, and services through online transactions is easy and beneficial for both the customer and the provider. Credit cards, mobile banking, and mobile wallets ensure transactions can be completed quickly, easily, and, most importantly, securely. 

However, security is not always a guarantee. As an online consumer, you always have to be aware of the risks to your cyber security. To secure your digital transactions, here are some strategies you can use: 

Only use trusted apps and websites 

When using online payment methods for entertainment purposes, such as playing on the best betting sites that are not on Gamstop, you need to make sure the site is 100% secure. You can ensure that an online gaming site is secure when it features 120-bit and 256-bit SSL encryption protocols. 

However, you can expect more established websites to use more advanced software such as McAfee Secure.

You can also identify a trusted website by whether or not it provides 24/7 customer support, features real dealers, and offers reputable payment methods. 

The same goes for shopping online. While there are plenty of reputable eCommerce websites out there, there are also a growing number of spoofs of the real thing, designed to steal your credit card information. It’s crucial to stay cautious when entering your payment details online, especially on unfamiliar websites. Make sure to double-check the website’s security measures and reviews to ensure a safe and secure shopping experience. 

If you spend money online, security and data encryption should be a major concern. Before you make a digital transaction on any website, make sure it fits the aforementioned criteria. 

Set up two-factor authentication 

A trusted website should also offer two-factor authentication – a Google-approved security system. This is when two forms of authentication are required for you to make a payment. 

I.e., putting in your password and accessing your account would be one factor, while verifying a code sent to your mobile number would be the second factor. 

This way, if a hacker were to hack into your account, they would also need your mobile phone to complete a transaction. 

Check the financial statements 

Regularly checking your financial statements for payments you don’t recognize is key to keeping your online transactions secure. A hacker may not make it obvious that they’ve stolen your financial information, and will only make small, sporadic payments with your details. This increases their chances of getting away with it. 

Periodically check your financial statements for irregularities and investigate any that you come across. 

Get a prepaid debit card

If you routinely make purchases on the same website or app, it would be best to set up a prepaid debit card to use for that purpose alone. For example, if you regularly check sports website, having a separate dedicated card could help protect your main bank account. 

This way, you could load this dedicated card with only enough to cover how much you intend to spend. While this prepaid card is still at risk of cyberattack, at least hackers will be unable to access your main bank. 

Just make sure you get a debit card for this purpose and not a credit card, as this could generate high interest and lower your credit score. 

Don’t make digital transactions through public wifi

Always make financial transactions via private WiFi or mobile data. The information that passes through public WiFi is far easier to access than that of private WiFi. This means your financial information could easily fall into the hands of hackers – so, stick to data, your home connection, or invest in a VPN.

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