43 Folders

Back to Work

Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.

Join us via RSS, iTunes, or at 5by5.tv.

”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Cyber Monday safe shopping tips

"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?

jsp's picture

One tip I recommend is...

One tip I recommend is to check if your credit card company offers "virtual" (the term I've seen used by Citibank and MBNA) or "disposable" (AmEx) one-time numbers for those marginal sites you're just a little leery of.

Often I've found a site via Froogle that seems acceptable, but since I don't plan to ever use it again, I don't want to use my actual credit card number, which could be on file for who knows how long. So I just fire up my credit card company's site and generate a one-off number, complete with custom expiration date and 3-digit verification code.

Also great for those times when you've left your wallet/card at home and want to make a quick purchase at work or elsewhere.

 
EXPLORE 43Folders THE GOOD STUFF

Popular
Today

Popular
Classics

An Oblique Strategy:
Honor thy error as a hidden intention


STAY IN THE LOOP:

Subscribe with Google Reader

Subscribe on Netvibes

Add to Technorati Favorites

Subscribe on Pageflakes

Add RSS feed

The Podcast Feed

Cranking

Merlin used to crank. He’s not cranking any more.

This is an essay about family, priorities, and Shakey’s Pizza, and it’s probably the best thing he’s written. »

Scared Shitless

Merlin’s scared. You’re scared. Everybody is scared.

This is the video of Merlin’s keynote at Webstock 2011. The one where he cried. You should watch it. »