Happy Black Friday, everyone! Some will go out shopping to stores today, so if you do, keep up your awareness. Recovering from COVID-19 restrictions makes the delight of online shopping an asset. Even despite the economy and inflation, the shopping turnout so far this season over this last weekend has been a shopper’s delight. Please feel free to take advantage of all the sales this year!

💻 📱 👚 👗 👠

Tips & Suggestions For Safe Shopping:
Our goal is to have a memorable event while shopping on our Cyber Monday. The last encounter we want is to be taken out on somebody’s scams. I am going to share some pointers to have your Cyber Monday not interrupted and cause not only disappointment, but discouragement. For more detailed information on some sams going on right now, visit my post: Holiday Scamming, Zelle Scams & Steering Clear of Being A Victim of Fraud. The last thing we want tis to be taken, and then having to go through all the hoops of visiting police stations, contacting the Federal Trade Commission and more…

Safety, Tips & Pointers For Safe Online Shopping:
Don’t forget to try to have some fun when you venture out to shop!! But make sure the day is safe. Happy Black Friday and have some great shopping! If you opt to go online here are some pointers:

• Always initiate the call, go to a reputable website directly from a online search. It is okay to have a Chrome extension or other browser extensions assist you in saving money, as long as you do investigating before using it as to the status of the company providing you with couponing, rebates or perks.
• Don’t ever do business with a solicitor. If you did not call, don’t think the call will help.
• Don’t let a caller scare you into losing out due to something expiring, to save you dollars, or any other tactic. Time loss can be used in a criminal’s favor against you as cues to save money can shift you into being vulnerable.
• If someone or a business is claiming that they have a deal that is going to be “the easy way” or sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t worth the words expressed. Nothing comes easy!
• NEVER enter your passwords via an email, text, phone call or other communication, unless YOU initiated the attempt to login, and the site is trustworthy.
• Don’t respond to emails from suspicious destinations. Always use emails from reputable stores, shops, known bloggers, and from personal recommendations or good online reviews at a reputable internet rating site.
• Never give vulnerable information over the internet unless the 🔒 symbol is in the browser bar. Also make sure that the internet destination is “https://???.com” NOT “http://???.com“. The “s” which is the 5th letter on the browser bar stands for “secured“. If you do not see this, cease doing a transaction at that site as it is not safe divulging information as the hypertext needs to be secured through encryption or anyone can see your personal information being transferred over the internet, including on a router system near where your Wi-Fi is hooked.
• Make sure that you always use a secured and private connection, not a “public” or common connection when it comes to the Wi-Fi you are using. Your cell phone is secured and encrypted while using a carrier for the transaction, but if the Wi-Fi is activated, you must make sure that it is in the “OFF” position, unless you are at your home or on Wi-Fi that belongs to someone that you know to be trustworthy. Doing a transaction on a workplace’s Wi-Fi can be sketchy and your security can be compromised unless your workplace is self-employment.
• If you encounter any request to do business in a method that you do not feel comfortable to use, especially if a store wants you to obtain gift cards from a store that is NOT for the store you are shopping, hang up or cease the transaction immediately. Make sure that in any transaction you get screenshots, reference numbers or other identifying factors while completing your transaction.
• Never complete a transaction if the price that is in the cart does not match the price that started on the shopping page that put the item in your cart. If you plan on going back to the same store in the future, make sure you empty the cart, or the item could stay in the cart and be ordered by accident on a future date.

Safety, Tips & Pointers For Safe Online Shopping:
If you are party to being a victim on Cyber-Monday or any other shopping day, you can contact the following agencies:

• Your local police station if you are at any monetary loss online. If you use a credit card, you will need a report number to have any recourse to issue a claim, because they will need a police report number in order to initiate a claim.
• The Federal Trade Commission at File A Complaint | Federal Trade Commission.
• Your state or local consumer protection agencies. Visit  for a list of state Attorneys General.
• If you believe you have been scammed, and you don’t know who to call, the LIST: Who’s My Attorney General? or NAAG for a directory state-by-state and also other pertinent information of who you will need to get in touch with after you have been scammed.
• For online crimes involving cash, counterfeit checks and money orders, file an online complaint with the FBI: Internet Crime Complaint Center which is a joint project of both the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center.

👝 👜 💍 ☎️ 📞

Gift Giving Store Shopping Ideas & Food For Your Cyber Monday:

Enjoy your holiday shopping season. Always keep your guard up–online, or out and about. Have a wonderful experience, whether it is by going out to the store, or a great online experience. Have a happy and safe Cyber Monday!

Happy Cyber Monday!