Better Business Bureau offers tips ahead of Cyber Monday

Holiday deals are just around the corner. While you may be familiar with Black Friday deals, you may be less familiar with Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving and is a 24-hour online shopping event.

Better Business Bureau offers these tips to consider when shopping online for the holidays:

■ Determine what you need to buy on Cyber Monday beforehand, so you have a plan.

■ Shop early, so the item you’re looking to buy doesn’t sell out before you get the chance to buy it.

■ Shop from a secure computer. Be sure it’s protected by a firewall, antivirus and anti-spyware software.

■ Read the site’s privacy policy and understand what information you’re being asked to provide and how it will be used. Think twice if there’s not a privacy policy.

■ Try to avoid making purchases while on public Wi-Fi.

They use public airwaves, making it easier for scammers to intercept what you’re looking at on the web.

■ Sign up for retailer newsletters to stay up to date on upcoming deals.

■ Use retailer sites, not search engines. Scammers are good at creating deceptive links that look very similar to stores and deals you may be familiar with.

■ Look for discount codes and other ways to save money online.

■ Follow the brands you intend to buy from on social media. Then, when they announce their cyber weekend deals, you will be in the know.

■ Consider using a price comparison tool, so you know you found the best possible deal.

■ Only buy from stores you trust online. Bookmark the sites you’re familiar with so you can avoid getting redirected to fake websites created by scammers.

■ Create secure passwords to use when making accounts to shop online.

■ Don’t forget to account for shipping fees.

■ Shop on secure websites. Look for a “s” after “http” in the URL to indicate the website is secure.

■ Check the return policy. Make sure any retailer you buy from accepts returns after the holiday season. Determine if you’ll have to cover the cost of return shipping and restocking fees.

■ Use your credit card. Using a credit card can protect you from fraud, as you can dispute the charge with your credit card company if there’s an issue.

■ Keep documentation of your order. Save receipts and a copy of the confirmation page or email of your purchase until you receive your items and are satisfied.