TechRadar’s tried-and-tested pick of the best VPN services is not only great for enhancing your online privacy, but it’s also one of the best solutions for fighting fake online shop scams.
Independent auditors at AV-Comparatives ranked NordVPN’s malware and ad blocker tracker as the third best online shopping fraud protection tool out of 35 similar software.
The provider released Threat Protection Pro, an upgrade to its tracker blocker, in June to give users better protection against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. At the time, AV-comparatives recognized NordVPN as an anti-phishing tool, the first VPN provider to receive such an award.
How NordVPN protects you from fake online stores
“Fake shopping sites have become a major problem for shoppers around the world. They often resemble real e-commerce platforms and use professional design, fake customer reviews and attractive discounts to trick buyers,” said Domininkas Virbickas, Head of Development at Threat Protection. “We are doing our utmost to protect our customers from the serious harm caused by these sites.”
Threat Protection Pro, which is only available for Windows and macOS at the time of writing, is an enhanced version of the old tracker, malware, and ad blocker integrated directly into the virtual private network software.
While the feature currently known as Threat Protection Lite blocks harmful websites, trackers, and ads at the DNS level and is only active when connected to a VPN, Threat Protection Pro goes a step further to combat more advanced attacks such as fake online shops, phishing, and other malvertising. The latter works at the network level, scanning all traffic directly on the client’s device without requiring an active VPN connection.
“This is exactly what the market-leading antivirus software does,” the provider said.
NordVPN’s new tool has proven to deliver on the provider’s promises against online shopping scams: in AV-comparatives’ tests, it detected around 70% of fake shops, outdone only by two dedicated browser extensions.
It’s important to note that unlike Threat Protection Lite, which is included with all plans, Threat Protection Pro is exclusive to Plus and Ultimate subscribers.
This is what Threat Protection Pro looks like on the NordVPN macOS app. (Image credit: Future)
While NordVPN can effectively protect you from most online scams, it’s still worth learning how to spot the warning signs when buying something online from an unknown site.
VPN companies share some tips to help you stay vigilant while shopping online.
Be skeptical of discounts that seem too good to be true. As a rule of thumb, if it sounds too good to be true, it almost always is. The Nord team recommends comparing prices on trusted sites and being wary of huge discounts on popular items. Check the quality of the website. Although some cyber attackers have improved their attacks, many scams are still easy to spot. Look out for bad grammar, low-quality images, broken links, etc. Check the domain. Fake websites usually come with misspelled domains, so be sure to check before you click. Nord also recommends looking for a valid SSL certificate (denoted by “https://”) and a padlock symbol to ensure it’s a trustworthy connection. To be extra safe, use a URL checker to see if a domain is safe. NordVPN has a free URL checker. Background research is key. Does everything look legit and you’re ready to buy? Before you click the button, you should do some more research. Check the reputation of the retailer online to see what other users are saying. Check the website’s privacy policy, terms of use, and contact information to see if there’s anything fishy about it. Be wary of unusual payment methods: For obvious reasons, scammers generally prefer payment methods that are hard to trace, such as cryptocurrency, gift cards, wire transfers, etc. Offering these methods isn’t necessarily a sign of a scam, but be wary if a retailer claims to have any of them.
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