In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, consumers are often quick to whip out a credit card for that must-have gift they stumble across. But with more and more people doing at least some of their holiday shopping online, do they take the time to keep their credit card information safe while spending?

Regardless of what other consumers do, you can protect your credit card details when doing holiday shopping online this year. It’s actually pretty easy! Here are some tips that can help you protect yourself when shopping online during the busy holiday shopping season, keeping your credit card information safe and preventing you from becoming a victim of credit card fraud.

1. Only buy from reputable retailers.

Around the holidays you’ll find plenty of “too good to be true” deals, some on websites you’ve never even heard of. It might be tempting to order online from them to save a few more dollars. But if you want to keep your credit card information secure, look for the best deal from a reputable retailer you already know instead.

2. Don’t click links in sales emails.

Some of those deals you’ll see will come directly to you in your email inbox. But be careful. Just because an email looks like it’s coming from one of your favourite retailers, it doesn’t mean it’s true. Spammers use phishing emails to make it look like a trusted site is emailing you, so you’ll click the links and visit their fake retail site. The idea is to trick you into getting there so you enter your credit card information, thinking you’re making a purchase from the actual retailer.

3. Double-check Web addresses before buying.

Always look closely at the address for a store’s website in your browser’s address bar. The part directly before the “.com” or “.com.au” should be the company’s main domain. If it looks like anything else, or just looks a bit unusual, leave the site. Go back to the site’s main page by typing it in yourself (or doing a search for the company if you aren’t sure what their domain name is). Then look for the deal or product page you were looking at and know you can order more securely.

4. Make sure sites are secure before you submit personal or financial details.

Take another look at the site’s Web address, specifically from the order page where you’re asked to enter your credit card information. If the address starts with http:// you might want to leave. Order pages on secure sites generally start with https:// instead. Or look towards the bottom of your browser window for a little padlock icon. Secure sites will generally have one displayed there.

5. Check your transaction log frequently.

If you’ll be doing a lot of holiday shopping, online or off, log-on to your credit card account frequently. Check the recent transaction list and make sure everything matches your receipts. Not only will you find out if someone stole your info and used it to make unauthorised transactions, but you’ll also see if a purchase you think you made didn’t appear (which could be important if you followed a phishing link via email to make that fake purchase). If you find anything suspicious, contact your credit card company.

The holidays can be hectic, but that doesn’t mean you have to put your credit card information at risk when purchasing gifts online. The few basic precautions above can save you from having to deal with New Year headaches trying to get your finances sorted out after becoming a victim of credit card fraud.