Shopping online does carry some risk, but so does shopping at brick-and-mortar stores. At least online shoppers don't need to worry about fender-benders in the parking lot, pick pockets at the mall, or getting the flu from all those fellow shoppers.

But the nice thing about shopping online is that by following some basic guidelines you can be reasonably sure you'll have a safe experience.

Secure your PC: The first thing you need to do is be sure your computer is secure. Trend Micro's education director David Perry, says that "bad guys these days are operating by planting a keylogger on your system that listens in, surreptitiously waiting for you to use your credit card or your bank password so that they can steal your money." So, even if you're dealing with a legitimate merchant, you're at risk if your computer is infected. Your best protection from these attacks is to keep your operating system and browsers updated and use a good and up-to-date security program. If you're getting or giving a Netbook or other PC for the holidays, make sure that security software is installed right away. Most security companies offer a free-trial version that will tide you over for a month or so, but be sure to subscribe so you get ongoing protection.

Click with care: You're going to be getting a lot of offers via e-mail this holiday season. While they might be legitimate, there is the possibility of some offers coming from criminals trying to trick you into giving your password to a rogue site or visiting a site that can put malicious software on your computer. Your best protection is to not click on any links--even if the message looks legitimate--but to type in the merchant's URL manually.

1. Don't use a debit card for online shopping. If there is a problem, a debit card could give phishers or hackers access to your entire checking and/or savings account. Plus, most debit cards don't have the same protections that credit cards offer.

2. Make sure all of your security software is up-to-date before you do your online shopping. That includes anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, and firewalls.

3. Use a separate email account
for your online shopping. You can set up a free email account on Google's Gmail or Yahoo, among others.

4. Check the privacy policy of any website you plan to purchase from. Make sure they have a privacy policy, that your data stay private to the merchant, and that they don't sell or rent your information to third parties.

5. Never enter personal information into a pop-up screen. Unauthorized pop-up screens can be created by identity thieves and the screen may be completely unrelated to the websites you are visiting. Legitimate companies don't ask you to enter personal or financial information on pop-up screens.

6. Never respond to emails asking you to "confirm" recent transactions after you shop. These are phishing scams that coincidentally are sent around the time you shop.

Hi

1. Make sure all of your security software is up-to-date before you do your online shopping. That includes anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, and firewalls.

2. Use a separate email account
for your online shopping. You can set up a free email account on Google's Gmail or Yahoo, among others.

3. Check the privacy policy of any website you plan to purchase from. Make sure they have a privacy policy, that your data stay private to the merchant, and that they don't sell or rent your information to third parties.

4. Never enter personal information into a pop-up screen. Unauthorized pop-up screens can be created by identity thieves and the screen may be completely unrelated to the websites you are visiting. Legitimate companies don't ask you to enter personal or financial information on pop-up screens.

5. Never respond to emails asking you to "confirm" recent transactions after you shop. These are phishing scams that coincidentally are sent around the time you shop.

Thanks

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1. Bigger names equal better protection.
"Go with reputable companies you've heard of," says Jim Stickley, co-founder, CTO and vice president of engineering at TraceSecurity, a company that works with financial institutions to better their network security systems to deter identity thieves.

Stickley, who knows firsthand how easily sensitive information is stolen, says that if a deal sounds too good to be true -- say, $20 for an iPod Nano -- it probably is. What's worse, it's probably an attempt to trick you into giving out personal information.

Steven Branigan, founder and president of CyanLine and author of "High Tech Crimes Revealed" agrees and says that it's good to know the site you're going to, such as the bigger sites like Amazon.com. "These sites put their name on the line."

On the other hand, the fear factor hurts smaller merchants who might have better deals.

One comparison shopping site, buysafeshopping.com, solves both problems by bonding qualified merchants for up to $25,000 with Liberty Mutual, Travelers and ACE USA. BuySAFE puts merchants through a screening process to verify the merchant's identity, online sales experience and ability to deliver the purchased items. If a retailer passes that process, buySAFE is willing to stand behind them with its purse, says Jeff Grass, CEO and president, and Rob Caskey, senior director of buyer marketing.

2. When in doubt, check them out.
If you go with an unknown merchant or Web site, contact someone there who can verify the company's privacy policy for you before you make a purchase. Ask if they'll send you a catalog.

"If they don't list phone numbers and only have an e-mail address, that's a huge red flag," Stickley says. "Call the phone number and see if it goes to voice mail. Anyone can have voice mail set up."

Bottom line: If you can't get a human being on the phone or don't like what you're hearing, go shopping somewhere else.

Thanks

Shopping online is a great way to save time and money, but those efficiencies quickly vanish for people who lack basic online shopping smarts. Take a few minutes to review these safe shopping tips: They may just save you a world of headache and financial pain.

1. Shop with a credit card, not a debit card. The banks are pushing more consumers toward debit cards with a bevy of awards programs because they can charge merchants higher fees than on credit card-based transactions, said Avivah Litan, a fraud analyst with Gartner Inc. But if your debit card number gets stolen, it might be somewhat more complicated to sort things out, especially if fraud causes overdrafts and bounced checks.

2. Keep track of your receipts. Some experts advise online shoppers to print out all receipts. That's fine, but a simpler and more "green" alternative to this important tip is to simply take a screen shot of your order details, or save the page itself as an HTML file.

3. Shop from a locked-down PC. One piece of advice you almost always see in these Black Monday online shopping tips is to make sure you're running up-to-date anti-virus software. That's fine advice, of course, but if you're just now getting around to taking it, you might want to think twice about shopping online at all with that computer: It may already have a keystroke-logging virus on it. The best piece of advice: Use a Mac, or if you have more than one computer in the home, avoid shopping on the household's communal computer.

4. Look for the SSL sign/padlock in the browser's address bar. If you don't see this conspicuously on the page asking you to enter your personal and financial details, run away. This is the hallmark of one of thousands of fly-by-night consumer electronics shops on the Web. These phantom storefronts often rip off entire display pages from legitimate stores and are here today, gone tomorrow.

5. Avoid bargain-basement shopping online. There's nothing wrong with wanting the best price, but be aware that last year we saw plenty of phantom stores pop up around the holidays, advertising prices way below name-brand stores. If you're the type of shopper who buys from the cheapest online store regardless of whether you've ever bought anything from the site before, consider using comparison.