Manila, Philippines – It’s back to school again! As students, parents, and teachers gear up for the incoming academic year, many quirky and functional school supplies are the centerpiece of shopping stores. With the attractive deals being offered this season, Filipino shoppers will certainly have more reason to haul the best quality school essentials. If you want to avoid the busy aisles in the department stores or book stores, you can comfortably shop for that new school bag or new laptop in online stores!

The online shopping ecosystem in the Philippines is continuously growing, and you can find just about everything online – from clothing stores, to books, groceries and just about everything else. While online shopping is convenient and offers a wide variety of products, there are still some to-dos to help safeguard us from falling prey to online fraudsters.

Here are our tips for more secure online shopping.

#1 Use Credit Cards and Trusted Online Payment Systems

Link your credit card to your PayPal account to enjoy rewards such as cashbacks, rebates and more!

This year, try checking out your online purchases with PayPal (look out for the PayPal button when you checkout!). PayPal allows you to link multiple credit cards to your account, enabling you to select the most suitable card for each of your purchases while keeping your financial details more secure. You can enjoy the rewards associated with each card (contact your card issuer for details) without having to refer to your credit card every time you shop.

When you use PayPal to pay, our Buyer Protection policy covers eligible purchases should anything go wrong with your purchase.

#2 Always Shop on Secure Websites

While it may be tempting to get those stylish and super-cheap sneakers you want to shop for your kid, stop and do a few quick checks before you click on “Buy”. Look out for the “https” prefix and padlock symbol in the website’s URL. This means that the site is secure and any financial or personal details that you provide are encrypted.

To be extra sure, check if this website has a social media presence (Facebook and Instagram account) and read through the reviews to see if there are any concerns raised by other customers.

When creating accounts at your favorite merchant sites, be sure to use a strong and unique password. We agree that it is often easier just to use a repeat or simple password to speed up the process but this could put you at risk of online fraud.

#3 Beware of Phishing Emails

During key shopping periods like the Mid-Year Sale, Pay Day Sale, and Christmas, you are likely to be swamped with festive e-mailers from your favorite online stores telling you about their fabulous promotions. While it may be tempting to click through, keep a lookout for tell-tale signs that it could be a phishing email.

#4 Avoid Online Shopping on Public Wi-Fi

Free public Wi-Fi can be a boon while sitting in cafes or waiting around for friends at shopping malls. It is also risky as many Wi-Fi hotspots are not encrypted. If you are shopping or doing your bank transactions online while on a public Wi-Fi network, you could be in danger of having your data stolen.

To do financial transactions on your mobile device, always use your personal data network. Better to be safe than sorry!

We hope you find these tips useful! Happy and secure shopping everyone!

About PayPal
Fueled by a fundamental belief that having access to financial services creates opportunity,

PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL) is committed to democratizing financial services and empowering people and businesses to join and thrive in the global economy. Our open digital payments platform gives PayPal’s 203 million active account holders the confidence to connect and transact in new and powerful ways, whether they are online, on a mobile device, in an app, or in person. Through a combination of technological innovation and strategic partnerships, PayPal creates better ways to manage and move money, and offers choice and flexibility when sending payments, paying or getting paid. Available in more than 200 markets around the world, the

PayPal platform, including Braintree, Venmo and Xoom, enables consumers and merchants to receive money in more than 100 currencies, withdraw funds in 56 currencies and hold balances in their PayPal accounts in 25 currencies. For more information on PayPal, visit https://www.paypal.com/about. For PayPal financial information, visit https://investor.paypal-corp.com.

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