Whether you are using an App or a website for an online Idea recharge, the fact is that you need to be careful while doing so. Any kind of payment in the virtual world that entails disclosing confidential and personal information related to your banking and card details needs to be done cautiously and privately – even if the recharge value is of a nominal amount. While many consider Apps to be much safer than websites, the truth is that both the mediums can be targeted or hacked by people to get hold of your financial data and misuse it.

Some basic tips to ensure safe online transactions

1. Use your own computer – desktop or laptop and stay away from using public terminals. Else use your smart phone – download the Paytm App, MobiKwik App or PhonePe App for faster and secure transactions.
2. While doing Idea recharge, avoid using public Wi-Fi network. Best is to use the network at home or the Mobile Data services on your smart phone.
3. If using a website for recharging it is best to make sure that the site address starts with the words ‘https’. The presence of a lock symbol before the site address is also a guarantee that the site is safe for use.
4. Create strong and difficult-to-break passwords. Never share the same with anyone around. Keep changing the password on a regular basis. Never save passwords and user ids on computers, laptops and even your own mobile handset.
5. Using mobile wallets is the best way to keep your information out of reach of cyber criminals. Credit cards are safe too.
6. When downloading apps make sure that you do so from your smart phone play store or from reputed website. Read comments and reviews thoroughly to understand the authenticity of the App.
7. Prefer using payment modes that feature the two-factor authentication. In this case, you first need to enter a password to authorize the transaction and finally an OTP (One Time Password) to give final approval to the deduction of money from your account.
8. Using a security software program, both for your computer or mobile device is recommended. Anti-virus programs are also equally good to prevent malware and other software virus to hack your system.
9. When doing Idea recharge using a web browser it is best to turn on the privacy mode. This enables a separate window to open up where the confidential information features as long as the window is open. Once the window is closed, post transaction, the cache data is cleaned up thereby automatically preventing all chances of loss of your private data. With browsers and Apps, users also need to verify the corresponding digital certificate to ensure that the website is authentic. It is one way of the site and the App guaranteeing the user of its genuine nature.
10. Last but not the least before leaving a computer terminal and even on your own mobile device, remember to log out from the site and the App before moving on to do other things in life.