Most adults and teenagers own smartphone devices which they use for a wide range of things including shopping online every month. Although there are various advancements in this technology, people are still somewhat skeptical about mobile payment systems, more specifically whether or not they are safe for use.
If you are one of those people wondering whether or not smartphones are safe when making transactions over the Internet, this article might be able to help you. The text below is going to feature a list of 7 tips for making the process safer, which means that you’ll finally be able to shop over the net while keeping your money safe. Let’s take a look at the tips:
Contents
1. Opt For Downloading Reputable Applications
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The very first thing that you need to ensure is that your banking info is securely stored on an application that is reliable and trustworthy. Now, this is not only important for the shopping apps but, for all the other ones you choose to download, especially since there are some of them that contain viruses that can destroy your phone and steal your credentials.
Hence, before downloading an app where you will order stuff online, you should first read the reviews in order to determine what experience other people had. This will help you determine whether or not the app is safe, which is why you need to pay attention to what you get from the Internet.
2. All Your Passwords Need to Be Strong
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We are not only talking about your smartphone PIN, but we are also talking about the password of your account. Most platforms will require you to create an account and log in, which is why you need to opt for creating strong passwords. For instance, you might want to include lower and upper case letters such as ‘PasswordStrong’, as well as numbers and symbols such as ‘PasswordStrong997!’.
Doing all of the aforementioned things will keep your records safe, but more importantly, it will keep your banking information safe. Besides this, you need to protect your phone as well, which means that you should set a password or PIN code or opt to unlock it by using your fingerprint.
3. The Platform Needs to Be Reliable
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If you choose to add the payment information to a platform, use the program that comes with your smartphone device. If you do not want to do this, then you must choose to use a trusted payment provider platform. For instance, pinoyloads.com has an easy platform where you can send instant prepaid payments to another person.
When choosing the platform, again, you’ll need to read the testimonials of other people, but, keep in mind that you should not only read the ones posted on official websites. Instead, search for independent review websites where you’ll find testimonials that are more honest.
4. Never Send Private Information When Using Public Wi-Fi
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Using public Wi-Fi is perfect when you need to check your social media platforms and browse the Internet, however, it may not be the best idea to send any private, sensitive information when connected to it. Any data that you choose to send will be accessible by all people using the same network – which is something you definitely want to avoid.
There are people who know how to intercept your payment info when you access your phone and purchase something over the Internet. If you want to buy things online, you should know that it is smarter to do it at home. On the other hand, if you really want to order something while you are not at home, it is wiser to utilize your mobile carrier’s network.
5. Utilize a Credit, Not Debit Card
Source: latimes
In order to protect yourself even further, you should remember that it is better to use a credit card, instead of a debit one. Credit card companies usually have a fraud protection system that is extremely better than with other options. But, debit cards are quite different. If the money is taken from the account, you might end up being liable for that.
Besides this, if the bank chooses to return the money to you, it will definitely take them a lot of time to arrange everything, as well as investigate what might have led to this misfortune. So, generally speaking, you should have and use a credit card for all online transactions that you make.
6. Always Check You Banking Account
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When the payment is sent and processed, you should always, I repeat, always check your banking account. Monitoring your account from time to time will allow you to see whether or not there is suspicious activity, which means that you’ll be able to stop anything bad happening to your account.
You can always choose to report a suspicion or problem to your bank, which is something you definitely want to do since it allows you to report changes to the provider. Hence, they can shut down your account, open a new one, as well as order new credit cards for you. Any time you notice something suspicious, report it without thinking twice about it.
7. You Should Also Check The Seller
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In order to determine that the seller is compliant, you can check the URL for ‘https’. This extension is most commonly used for securing communication over the network and it is mostly used on the Internet. If an online store does not have this, it might not be secured, which means that all your transaction can be viewed.
Also, as we mentioned, check the reviews. You’ll want to look for on-time delivery, easy website navigation, a description of what the business does, as well as contact information. Always check if the retailer posted their email address, the physical address of the business, as well as a telephone number.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are various things that you can and should do in order to make online mobile payments safer. So, now that you know what you can try and do, you should really not waste any more of your precious time. Instead, go back to the beginning, determine what might suit you, and improve the security of your online transactions right away!
