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Online Shopping Is Safe, Just Be Careful

News
Dec 01, 20062 mins
CSO and CISOCybercrimeIdentity Management Solutions

A Michigan State University professor says that it's still safe to shop on the Internet, but that users should to be cautious and careful--year round.

A Michigan State University professor says that it’s still safe to shop on the Internet, but users should be cautious and careful—year-round, The State News reports.

Information studies and media professor Bob LaRose told the university’s newspaper that while shopping online increases the threat of identity theft, there are plenty of ways to prevent it from happening.

LaRose explained some of the ways that online thieves and scam artists will try and con identifying customers, such as phone calls from people impersonating financial institutions and businesses, and various forms of phishing e-mails, the paper reports.

The article also alluded that it’s smart policy to do business only with known and reputable online companies.

Jacob Hawkins, the senior vice president of online marketing at Overstock.com, told the school paper that his company takes measures to ensure customer information is always safe.

“All of our customers’ information is encrypted at all times, and we are always verifying things to make sure our security is up to date,” Hawkins said.

The article states that according to Internet research firm JupiterResearch, online sales could reach up to $32 billion during this holiday season.

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