Online shopping is a part of everyday life and has become essential for many people around the world. With a couple of clicks, a delivery guy is bringing food or purchases straight to your door, while movie tickets arrive directly in your inbox.

With this convenience comes a downside: scammers are always looking for new ways to pick your pocket, aiming to gain unauthorised access to your personal information and money.

As such, it’s important for you to arm yourself with knowledge on the tricks used by cybercriminals, and make it part of your New Year’s resolution – 10 days in – to be well protected when carrying out online activity.

• Phishing, malware and fake websites

Received an email about a giveaway, or a notification about a suspended account? Don’t click anything – these are likely the work of scammers hoping to trick you into providing personal information.

For example, Amazon users were reportedly led to phishing pages through fake bonus-point offers that had to be cashed out immediately. When the user clicked on the link and entered their personal data, this went straight to the scammers.

Cybercriminals can also spoof the login screen of banking websites to capture your credentials, while those who are especially creative might make their own websites that resemble those of real online shopping services.

They then take your money without delivering the promised goods or services, and could steal your payment-card data, too.

Finally, attackers have been known to steal information or demand money through the use of malware that either spies on your computer or hijacks it, returning access to you only if you pay a “ransom” to the criminals.

• Public Wi-Fi

It’s not uncommon for people to log on to public Wi-Fi and place orders online. But anyone with the right skills and access to the same network can snoop on the wealth of data being sent back and forth.

In the case of free Wi-Fi at shopping malls, for example, there could be hundreds of strangers connected to the same network, some of whom might be there for something a lot less innocent than shopping.

That said, even at home, security remains an issue, especially if you’ve not changed your router password in years, and aren’t sure about the encryption protocol your network uses.

• Online store leaks

Online stores are not always secure and sometimes, unfortunately, leak databases of user accounts. For fraudsters, such data is gold – and if you happen to use the same password for different services, they will have access to all of them.

So, how should you protect yourself?

1. Use strong passwords

The fact remains that shorter and less complex passwords are more vulnerable, so the longer your combination of letters, numbers and symbols, the less likely cybercriminals will be able to crack it.

A good rule of thumb is to use at least 10 characters – even for accounts of little importance – and up to twice as long for accounts you really care about.

Another dangerous habit is to use the same passwords for multiple sites. Having grabbed the credentials for one account, cybercriminals will try to log in to other services with the same username and password.

You can devise your own password creation system, or use a password generator to come up with strong random combinations. And, so as not to forget them, store your credentials in a password manager.

2. Use a VPN

A secure connection encrypts all traffic and, therefore, prevents attackers from intercepting your login credentials and payment details. There are many VPN apps and services available, so do your due diligence and find out which are best suited to your needs.

3. Don’t link bank cards to online shopping accounts

Attackers love stealing accounts that are rarely used – this way, their actions go unnoticed for longer. Therefore, it’s worth linking a bank card only to online stores that you regularly visit; and make sure your account is not hijacked, and that no suspicious transactions appear in your purchase history.

In other cases, it’s safer to decline the “remember card” option and enter the numbers manually. That way, you’ll be less likely to lose money through a long-neglected account.

4. Use payment services

Payment services such as Google Play or PayPal store your data in encrypted form on secure servers. The merchant you buy from receives only the virtual account number assigned to the card by the service.

Since your card data is not seen by the merchant, this keeps your finances better protected from unscrupulous sellers, data leaks from the site, and data interception during transactions.

5. Get a separate card for online shopping

It would be prudent to obtain a separate card for online purchases and keep minimal funds on it. Even if attackers found out the details of this card, they wouldn’t get their hands on your main money source.

It’s best to top up the card immediately before making a purchase, and only with the amount you intend to spend.

6. Keep track of your payment history

Set up transaction notifications and check your payment history regularly. If you spot something suspicious, call your bank immediately.

Any unexpected debit, even a tiny amount, should raise red flags as it could be scammers doing a test run, or the first automatic payment for a subscription you haven’t signed up for.

7. Activate internet security

Using a reliable internet-security solution that automatically detects and blocks phishing sites will ensure your online activity remains safe as you embark on shopping in the New Year.