So you’ve survived Black Friday and Cyber Monday and your holiday shopping is still not finished. The Internet can be an efficient and stress free way to finish your shopping. But, be sure to heed these tips for safe online shopping.

• Shop with business you know, that have recognized reputations and can be trusted to stay in business. You also know they have the right to sell branded merchandise.
• Read and understand the Privacy Policy to know how this site will treat your personal information. If they don’t have a Privacy Policy, it is probably not a site to be trusted. Be sure you have contact information for the seller, not just the website address.
• Look for the padlock device on the browser status bar. And note that the URL should change to shttp or https when asking for payment information. Both of these keys indicate that the purchase is encrypted and secure.
• Be sure you know and agree to all shipping charges, taxes, delivery dates and any conditions that could cause delay or extra costs to you. And, read and understand the return policies before you buy.
• Never provide your Social Security Number or Driver’s License number.
• Be sure you read through the description of the item, checking for size, weight and accuracy of description. Watch for tricky phrases ex: “just like the ones you see on TV”, “the same great deal for ½ the price”, etc.
• If possible have packages delivered where someone can receive them (work, a neighbor who is usually home, etc). Packages left in open sight are easy to steal and indicate that no one is home.
• Be sure to print a receipt of your transaction, keeping a paper trail of any correspondence and acknowledgement of receipt of your order.
• Check your credit card statements and bank logs to be sure the costs that you agreed to, are the costs you are charged.