I am one of those people who doesn’t hesitate to buy something online – deal coupons, new pots and pans set from the Bay, bedding during the White Sale, memberships and subscriptions – I love when the Canada Post truck pulls up out front!
An email I got this morning reminds me that maybe I should think twice. Below is the opening of an email I got from Zappos:
First, the bad news:
We are writing to let you know that there may have been illegal and unauthorized access to some of your customer account information on Zappos.com, including one or more of the following: your name, e-mail address, billing and shipping addresses, phone number, the last four digits of your credit card number (the standard information you find on receipts), and/or your cryptographically scrambled password (but not your actual password).
THE BETTER NEWS:
The database that stores your critical credit card and other payment data was NOT affected or accessed.
Before posting I did check to make sure that the breach was real since it could have just been a phishing email for my password to get to my real info. And it is a fact that there was a massive breach at Zappos. (Read more here)
My dad has been warning me about my identity and private information but he is 67 years old and doesn’t have a computer at home so I sort of nod and tell him that I don’t need to worry but again, maybe I do!
I am not the only one who likes to shop in her jammies, in bed; eMarketer reports that by 2015, Canadians will spend $30.9 CAD billion online. (Read why now is the time for Canadian retailers to have an Ecommerce website)
So with all that spending going on maybe some of you have some tips for me on how to keep my information and identity safe or do you just stay away from Ecommerce?