Cyber Monday shopping tips

Are you already shopping today for Black Friday? Make sure you put some money aside for next Monday, because you can still get huge discounts during Cyber Monday 2021. This is probably the favourite online shopping day for many bargain hunters, but unfortunately also for cybercriminals. We give you some tips on how to shop safely online during Cyber Monday.

What is Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday is the online retailers' answer to Black Friday. In the past, Black Friday was only available in physical shops. Online retailers decided to make the following Monday their big discount day. Today, the difference is rather small, as on Black Friday and Cyber Monday you can shop online at competitive prices.

As the name suggests, Cyber Monday falls on a Monday each time. This year it falls on Monday 29 November. You can easily do this calculation for the following years as well: Thanksgiving always falls on the fourth Thursday in November, the next day is Black Friday and the following Monday is Cyber Monday. As with Black Friday, you can get particularly good deals on electronics or clothing. ⇒ The best Cyber Monday offers

Peak day for discounts and cyber criminals

Unfortunately, Cyber Monday, like Black Friday, is not only a peak day for bargain hunters. Cyber criminals are also on the prowl and want a piece of the action. The number of fraudulent websites and cases of financial phishing therefore often increases at the start of the sales period. With phishing, hackers try to get your personal information, passwords and even bank details in order to steal money. For example, they create fake pages of well-known retailers and fake payment systems, which can lead to online shoppers being tricked into losing a lot of money.

Tips for safe online shopping during Cyber Monday:

1. Secure your computer: surf on a secure internet connection (so no public networks) and always install the latest versions of your operating system, web browser and anti-virus software.
2. Use strong passwords: Create a unique and complex password for each website or online shop that is difficult for cybercriminals to discover.
3. Buy from sites you know: order from online shops you usually use, that you know and can therefore trust.
4. Don't open unreliable emails: many retailers send out a newsletter with their discounts during Cyber Monday. Is the email full of errors or do the emails contain suspicious characters? Delete it immediately and don't click on the links.
5. Make sure you can pay safely: In a secure online shop and secure payment area, the URL always starts with "https" and a closed padlock. Is it just "http"? Then your data is not sent securely and you cannot pay safely.
6. Use a secure payment method: pay for your purchases with a secure payment method such as credit card, Paypal, Payconiq, Klarna, bank transfer or ordinary debit card. Beware of payment services such as Western Union or Moneygram, which are often used by fraudsters.
7. Tip: Credit card (and Paypal) payments often include (online) purchase insurance, which protects you against damage, loss, theft and non-delivery of the product you have purchased. Sometimes there is also insurance against fraud. Some banks also offer cashback credit cards that allow you to get part of the purchase price back.

Amazon is the marketplace with the highest sales record on Black Friday and Cyber Monday since 2017.

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