The shopping season officially begins from Black Friday. And obviously the retailers want to continue the shopping fest so it's no surprise that the introduction of Cyber Monday has been a boon, not only for those comfortable with online shopping but for another chance to purchase the items that were missed out during the weekend sale. December usually sees a rise in both online and offline sales, with pre- Christmas sales and promotions across most brands.

So, if you are going to shop online, let me share tried and tested 5 tips for safe online shopping. Well, just like we are on the lookout for those irresistible online deals, there are loads of scammers out there waiting for you. Don’t let your happiness be grabbed by a fraud, take note of these tips to shop safely online.

1. Digital Payments

The convenience and ease of digital payments has resulted in overspending. My advice to those that tend to overspend is- do not use digital payments during the sales. Cash helps you keep your spending in check and also rethink every purchase consciously. So set a reasonable budget, get out the cash and then venture out shopping.

2. Shop on reliable websites

Once you've made your list and looked up all the online deals ensure you shop from reliable, known retailers. Make sure that the site is secure; secure sites use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption to keep data in transit hidden from hackers. A secure site's URL should start with HTTPS and not HTTP. Once you have checked this, it's OK to enter your payment information and shop away.

3. Don't shop on public Wi-Fi

Sitting at a coffee shop, sipping on a coffee and shopping may seem like the perfect scene to complete your online shopping. Well, this is the easiest way for hackers to gain access. Using public unencrypted and unsecured wifi connections is an absolute NO. And if you just have to do it, make sure to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network).

4. Keep your eye out for the holiday scams

Shopping scams are out there throughout the year. But the holiday season surely sees a rise and also makes otherwise vigilant shoppers prey to these scams. The demand for trending gifts, fast selling deals result in several fake online stores being set up. So if it's too good to be true, it may just be a scam.

5. Makeup: The sneaky one

Makeup sales hit the roof during the sales. Most often people land up buying makeup that either they have never tried before or multiple pieces of the items that they use due to the irresistible pricing. Well, these are items are both small and sneaky so two things are bound to happen:

• They get lost in the drawer and you never use it.
• They will expire.

For more information on online shopping:

• How to shop for clothes online like a pro - Methods I use to shop online | Canvasandweaves | Jainee - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEr94OF698o
• Everlane Haul & Review + Try On | 3 Tips for Online International Shopping | Jainee Gandhi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZf_L_aXc4U

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