Tis' the season to do a lot of online shopping while avoiding the stores and the throngs of Christmas shoppers. While you're busy buying, there are also scammers out there who are busy phishing for your information.
We almost fell for one recently when we were trying to sell a pre-loved item and receive funds via PayPal. The poorly written email asked for money to be sent to them before 'PayPal' released funds into our acccount. The email wasn't even from PayPal but a similar and official sounding account signed off by the CEO, we called the buyer's bluff and he threatened that we would be arrested if we didn't comply with his demands. Oh the nerve!
So stay vigilant and if it gives you peace of mind, sign up with PayPal as they even offer Buyer Protection. Shopping online should never be stressful, always visit the official site and never blindly follow a link as show in the 'Facebook' screen grab shown below:
You'll be offering your email and password and by the time you realize it, they would have used your account inappropriately and worse still, tried to access your banking information, emails and iCloud (if you use it). So always use different passwords for different accounts and always check to see if your account is being used in unauthorised locations around the world. If you accidentally provide information to phishing scammers that may be sensitive, immediately change your passwords and security questions.
Have a safe online shopping experience and a wonderful Christmas and New Years. Here's a little more on phishing and how to avoid it.
Love and Light
L A R K & P E O N Y