A few days before Black Friday, promotional emails and SMS are arriving en masse. Among them there are real good deals, but also scams. We explain to you how to tell the difference.
The end of the year is particularly conducive to phishing. Between Black Friday, Christmas and the winter sales, hackers have no shortage of opportunities to crack down and try to steal your personal data as well as your bank card number. Well-crafted frauds, often difficult to detect.
Fortunately, some cybersecurity solutions like those from Bitdefender can protect you. As this pivotal period approaches, the publisher is dropping the price of its most comprehensive offering, Bitdefender Premium Security Plus, by 50%, which amounts to 89.99 euros for the first year instead of 179.99 euros.
Beware of phishing and overly tempting offers
Phishing is the technique most used by hackers to steal your personal data. SMS, emails, or even false advertisements… all methods are good to lure you to a fraudulent site and steal your bank card number.
Indeed, what could be better than end-of-year celebrations and ostentatious promotions to charm you? It’s difficult not to be fooled when the message contains no language errors and the site in question looks exactly like the original.
When in doubt, never click on the links provided in a message, but search directly for the brand or e-commerce platform in question from your search engine. Then, log in to your personal account to find all the commercial offers to which you are entitled.
Likewise, avoid shopping on unfamiliar sites. Many brands have their own online store and there is no shortage of recognized e-commerce sites. In addition, the big names on the Web generally provide you with good guarantees in the event of non-receipt of the goods in particular. Also, don’t hesitate to look at reseller reviews, and if too many customers seem unhappy, move on.
Be careful when paying
The first checks have been carried out and the merchant site seems reliable to you? However, do not let your guard down when confirming the order and making payment.
First of all, it is essential to check that the connection to the site is secure and therefore that the URL begins with “https”. This isn’t everything, but it’s something to check in addition to all the others. All that remains is to choose your payment method. Few platforms leave any other alternative to the bank card. If this is the case, be extra vigilant.
Most e-retailers offer alternatives such as PayPal, Google Pay or Apple Pay, which save you from having to enter your bank details directly. If this option is missing, it is best to pay with a credit e-card. This gives you a temporary, single-use card number. So, even if this information falls into the hands of cybercriminals, they will not be able to make any additional payments with it.
Despite everything, it is important to regularly consult the history of your bank accounts in order to detect possible suspicious movements or, even worse, proven fraud and notify your bank as soon as possible.
Ban public Wi-Fi networks for shopping
When entering sensitive information, it is best to use your mobile connection or home Wi-Fi. Public Wi-Fi networks are insecure and make the work of hackers easier.
In this case, if you absolutely want to grab an exceptional offer, but 5G is missing or you no longer have mobile data, then a VPN is essential. This essential tool is responsible for securing the connection and encrypting the data flow.
Bitdefender Premium Security Plus: a complete, turnkey solution
The Bitdefender Premium Security Plus cybersecurity solution is one of the most advanced on the market, but also one of the simplest to use. Once subscribed, you don’t have to do anything, the protection is in “auto-pilot” mode and makes security decisions automatically so that you can concentrate on your online activities.
The tool takes care of ensuring the security of all your online accounts for you and protects up to 10 devices. Enough to cover your smartphone, your tablet, your PC and/or your Mac and even the equipment of the whole family.
Its comprehensive protection and integrated VPN effectively protect you against the risks of intrusion and hacking. In addition, Bitdefender Premium Security Plus analyzes the web pages you visit, automatically blocks fraudulent sites and secures all your online transactions. You can therefore make your purchases with complete peace of mind.
The editor has also added practical tools like a password manager. But the real strength of this solution lies in the protection of your personal data and your digital identity.
As soon as your information is compromised and exposed on the dark web, Bitdefender Premium Security Plus alerts you and explains how to quickly and easily regain control of this data. This solution therefore has all the tools to allow you to effectively fight against identity theft.
And with Black Friday approaching, Bitdefender Premium Security Plus is taking advantage of a nice 50% discount, bringing the price of the annual subscription to 89.99 euros instead of 179.99 euros.
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