Five top tips for online holiday shopping

“It is both fast and simple to prevent spam and malware from becoming the gifts that give nothing but grief,” said Trend Micro’s George McTaggart. “When shopping on line, make sure you are buying through legitimate sites and companies.”

1. Bookmark reliable online shopping sites. Relying on search engine results can lead you to malicious sites.
2. Ignore suspicious offers via email. Three out of four spam attachments are malicious in nature. Spam offerings use discounts that may contain malicious links or file attachments that lead to system infection.
3. Verify unbelievable offers. Spam and online ads offering mind boggling promos and discounts can lead to web threats.
4. Double check payment sites urls. Phishers trick users into giving out personal information via spoofed pages. Be careful – two of the most commonly phished sites are eBay and Paypal.
5. After you have made your purchase, check your billing statements to monitor transactions. Immediately report any discrepancy to your bank.

According to the latest numbers available from Statistics Canada, the value of orders placed online by Canadians reached $18.9 billion in 2012, up 24% from 2010 when the survey was last conducted. The average online shopper made about 13 separate orders and spent approximately $1,450.