5 Things to Remember For Safe Online Shopping

Time to face it, there's several reasons around the world to shop online. The bargains are there. The selection is mind-boggling. The shopping is secure. Shipping is fast. Even returns are pretty easy, with the right e-tailers. It's a golden age for not going to the store, yet buying more than ever.

As the matter of fact, an average person will spend around $700 tes season (according to the National Retail Federation) & number of phishing scam sites that resemble e-commerce companies has more than tripled from just July to September of 2010 according to IID's Third Quarter Phishing Trends Report, that means there's so many more chances you could accidentally hand over data to the wrong guy. The busy holiday season is only going to mean even more attempts at stealing your money and your identity.

You're already a step up in safety by shopping online-- there's no way for you to leave behind a credit card or wallet that way-- but you could still run into trouble. However, with some common sense and basic guidelines in place, your should never be troubling. Here are 5 tips for staying safe online while knocking out that holiday shopping list. If you are a woman then here are 5 Things Not to Avoid While Shopping Women Sportswear.

1. Use Familiar Web Sites.

Start at a trusted site rather than shopping with a search engine. Search results can get rigged to lead you astray, especially when you drift past the first few pages of links. If you know the site, chances are it's less likely to be a rip off. We all know Amazon.com and that it carries everything under the sun; likewise, just about every major retail outlet has an online store, from Target to Best Buy to Home Depot. Beware misspellings or sites using a different top-level domain (a.net instead of a.com, for example)-- those are the oldest tricks in the book. Yes, the sales on these sites might look enticing... that's how they get you into giving up your info.

2. Look for the Lock.

Never ever, ever buy anything online using your credit card from a site that doesn't have SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption installed-- at the very least. You'll know if it has it because the URL for the site will start with HTTPS:// (instead of just HTTP://) and an icon of a locked padlock will appear, typically in the status bar at the bottom of your Web browser. Never give anyone your credit card over e-mail. PayPal, however, is still a good, safe way to make a payment.

3. Don't Tell All.

No online shopping store is going to need your social security number or your birthday to do business. But if a bad-guy gets them, combined with your credit card number for purchases, they can do a lot of damage. When you can, default to giving up the least amount of information.

4. Check Statements.

Don't wait for your bill to come at the end of the month. Go online regularly during the holiday season and look at electronic statements for your credit card, debit card, and checking accounts. Make sure you don't see any fraudulent charges, even originating from sites like PayPal (after all, there's more than one way to get to your money). If you do see something wrong, jump on the phone to address the matter quickly. In the case of credit cards, don't pay the bill until you know all your charges are accurate. You have 30 days to notify the bank or card issuer of problems, however; after that, you might be liable for the charges anyway!

5. Inoculate Your PC.

Bad-guys don't just sit around waiting for you to give them data; sometimes they give you a little something extra to help things along. You need to protect against such Trojan horse malware with regular updates to your anti-virus program-- we recommend Norton Internet Security 2011 (4.5 stars, EC, $69.99 direct for three licenses), which has extras to help fight ID theft, or at the very least the free Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.1 (4 stars, EC).

Dayna is a fashion geek. She loves to buy and wear new clothes and travel new places. Here, she shares her experience and things to avoid while doing the online shopping.