It's amazing that we live in an era where you can buy pretty much anything you can think of, but online shopping isn't without its pitfalls. Online scammers and tricksters are always working hard to con you out of your hard-earned money, but with a VPN it's easy to fend off fake shopping sites and cybercriminals.
Using one of the best VPNs is a handy trick to save you money when online shopping, but did you know that it could also help you avoid being scammed when spending your hard-earned money?
Shop with confidence
If you're out in a public place and are filling a spare moment browsing the best deals online using a public Wi-Fi connection, you could be seconds away from a scam. Public Wi-Fi is one of the most notorious breeding grounds for scammers and that bargain deal on something exciting could, in fact, be a clever front to get your private information.
By connecting to a VPN first and then using public Wi-Fi, you're protecting yourself with an extra layer of encryption that hides your personal information from anyone trying to look in. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, most leading VPNs are identifying fake websites and including features to help protect you online.
For example, having your VPN to spot the phishing scam automatically before you can fall for it means you'll be able to shop with peace of mind. NordVPN "Plus" and "Ultra" subscribers can make use of Nord's Threat Protection Pro tool to deal with malware, suspicious links, and phishing scams automatically.
Even if it's not a scam, buying from less reputable sources can leave your information at risk if you have to make an account and that site gets attacked. With Surfshark's Alternative ID feature, that's not a concern as you can provide a completely random fake identity to sign up with.
The best part is that, if you hand over a phone number or email address, it'll redirect to your real ones – so you can destroy the fake email once your package arrives and avoid any risks of unscrupulous merchants selling on your details to "marketers" and the like.
What to look for in a shopping VPN
When it comes to selecting the right VPN for online shopping, you'll want to focus on a few certain factors. The most important is to make sure it has a high level of security and a proven no-logs policy. Any of the most secure VPNs should do the job in this regard.
If you're still struggling to decide then the anti-phishing capability of NordVPN and its large choice of servers make it a very strong contender. Surfshark is the fastest VPN out there and is great value, while ExpressVPN is more costly but the easiest VPN to use that we've seen.
