“Cyber Monday” is a new one to me, but allegedly today is the biggest online shopping day of the year. Yay, capitalism.

Get out there, type up some bargains, and have fun; but be sure to shop safe. It’s a crazy world, and somewhere there’s a 14-year-old Russian kid who needs one more identity theft to buy that Xbox 360. Good-looking tips for playing it safe online:

• Online Shopping Tips [Privacy Rights Clearinghouse] - “We recommend you print out at least one copy of the web page(s) describing the item you ordered as well as the page showing company name, postal address, phone number, and legal terms, including return policy. Keep it for your own records for at least the period covered by the return/warranty policy.”
• Safeshopping.org [American Bar Association] - “Do you want to visit a site without revealing your identity? Visit www.anonymizer.com, then type the web address of the site into the ‘Anonymizer’ web browser. The free Anonymizer service includes a slight delay in accessing pages; for a fee, you can access these pages with no delay.”
• Shopping Online For The Holidays: Twelve Tips To Protect Yourself From Cyber Grinches, Scams And Schemes [Better Business Bureau] - “Be suspicious if someone contacts you unexpectedly and asks for your personal information. Identity thieves send out bogus emails about problems with consumers’ accounts to lure them into providing their personal information. Legitimate companies don’t operate that way.”

As far as price comparisons and bargin-hunting, I’ve used Deal News, Price Grabber, and Dealazon, but I’m new to the (media-generated) world of Black Friday/Cyber Monday Mania. Got a favorite site with good deals to share? Any ninja shopping techniques you’ve mastered?