These days, you no longer need to jump in the car and head to the supermarket–or multiple shops–to find the product you want. The Internet has made the whole shopping process, from browsing to purchasing, that much easier. However, these benefits come with a cost. When you shop online, you face a greater risk of being taken advantage of. Whether you’re shopping online or in-person, you certainly don’t want that. Before making that big purchase, heed these online shopping tips to keep your personal information safe.

Shop With Reputable Retailers

There are a lot of shops out there, and they’re not just limited to the ones you know off the top of your head, like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart. In fact, anyone with just a little website-making skill can come up with a good-looking online shop, promising those wishlist items for a low, low cost. Well, as they say, don’t trust everything you see online. If you come across a deal that’s too good to pass up, but you aren’t familiar with the website, do some research to find out if it’s as legit as its making out to be. Even if the retailer does indeed turn out to be reputable, some lesser-known sites can have awful refund policies or a poor shipping history. Buyer beware, indeed.

Keep Your Financials and Other Personal Data Safe

Just as you should think twice before doing business with a no-name online retailer, you should also take caution when giving out your financial information. Many online shops will allow you to pay through a third-party payment system, such as PayPal, but you still run the risk of not having your payment reversed if you aren’t happy with how the deal goes. Being stringent in your financial information will keep that data from getting into the wrong hands, but it isn’t just your credit card that thieves can take advantage of. Even giving your email address to an unreputable dealer can put you on a spam list that will blast you with phishing emails that might trick you into giving out the really sensitive data.

Stay Secure in Every Step of the Process

Even if you shop with only the big names, you could still be at risk of having your information stolen. Unfortunately, vulnerabilities can occur at the fault of both you and the retailer. That’s why you should take notice of every step you take to purchase a product online. When you log into your shopping account, check to see if you’ve made every effort to secure your information – that includes changing the password regularly. When logging into your account, be sure that you’re surfing the Internet on a trusted network. Your device, whether it’s a computer or smartphone, should also be as up-to-date as possible, as devices running on outdated software are more open to attacks. A little attention paid every time you boot up your computer can save you a lot of headache in the future.

More likely than not, you’re not going to fall victim to identity theft or bogus charges when shopping online. That said, these are real issues that affect many people each year, and even though it might not happen to you, there’s a small chance it could. With just a little preparation and some online smarts, you’ll continue to shop safely and happily.