7 cybersecurity tips to help you shop safely this holiday season

7 cybersecurity tips to help you shop safely this holiday season

If you're surrounded by the warm glimmer of colorful lights, the city covered in fresh white snow, and the smell of excitement and perfectly roasted turkey in the air, it can only mean one thing: the holiday season is here! It's that time of the year when we look forward to spending quality time with our families and search for memorable gifts to give them. 


Over the years, online shopping has made finding and purchasing the perfect gifts so convenient and simple—even at the last moment. Starting with numerous Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers and sales continuing through the end of the year, it's never been a better time to find the perfect gift for your loved ones online. To enhance your experience, we've put together a few cyber tips to make your online shopping secure as well as convenient. 

Cybersecurity tips for Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping


Purchase from trusted websites
Attackers and con artists often set up temporary sites that resemble genuine shopping websites during the holiday season and try to obtain your vital login and payment information. Try to purchase from trusted and recommended online retailers or make sure to verify the validity of the website to keep your purchases safe and scam-free.

Avoid untrusted networks
Avoid making any online transactions or accessing your sensitive data on untrusted public networks. A potential attacker can steal sensitive data, like bank account and login details, that you transmit via the internet. We recommend using a VPN while browsing and also be sure to set your devices so they don't automatically connect to open networks. 

Be wary of donation scams 
Almost 40% of the charitable donations are said to be made in the last few weeks of the year. Scammers target users through texts, social media, and email for donations to charities that don't really exist. Always verify the legitimacy of the charity before making a donation.  

It can't be too good if it's a trap
Refrain from clicking on offers that seem too good to be true. Scammers often bait unsuspecting shoppers with mouthwatering offers using false advertising and emails impersonating popular retail websites. Validate all URLs carefully before clicking on links, or rather search for the offer directly from the retailer's website. Adopt a password manager to keep your logins safe. Password managers often validate the authenticity of a URL and never fill your passwords on phishing websites.  

Keep your digital identities and devices safe 
It's easy to lose yourself, and your devices, when you're surrounded by people and unbelievable offers. Keep your mobile devices safe while shopping in the rush and protect them with a passcode.

Strong passwords for all your accounts
Secure all your online shopping accounts with a separate unique, strong password for each. This way, in case one of them gets compromised, you can protect all your other accounts from related exposure. Use a password manager like Zoho Vault to generate strong passwords for each of your accounts and help manage them from one secure vault.

Add extra protection for your accounts
Your online shopping accounts usually contain critical payment details. Use two-factor authentication like OTP or voice call, for these accounts to protect them with another layer of security. 

We hope these tips help you have a safe shopping experience. With your constant support and feedback, we have been able to regularly improve your Vault experience and online safety. We want to take this moment to thank everyone for continuing to be a part of our journey, and to wish you all happy holidays. 

Shop responsibly and stay safe with Zoho Vault!

Cheers
The Zoho Vault team



      • Sticky Posts

      • Introducing SecureForms in Zoho Vault

        Hey everyone, Let’s face it—asking someone to send over a password or other sensitive data is rarely straightforward. You wait. You nudge. You follow up once, twice—maybe more. And when the information finally arrives, it shows up in the worst possible

      • Join our World Password and Passkey Day expert Q&A 2025

        Hey everyone! World Password and Passkey Day is almost here, and there's no better time to talk about something we all rely on daily—secure authentication. Did you know that a staggering 60% of hacking-related breaches are tied to weak or stolen passwords?

      • Zoho Vault: A look at what's new for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS

        Hi everyone, At Zoho Vault, we constantly aim to improve your security experience. Based on both internal and external feedback, we have recently rolled out updates across our iOS, iPadOS, and support for macOS platforms. Introducing the desktop app for

      • iOS 12 update: Introducing autofill passwords and Siri Shortcuts in Zoho Vault

        With this iOS 12 release, Zoho Vault users can now autofill usernames and passwords on Safari and other third-party apps. Users can enjoy a seamless login experience to their everyday apps without compromising security and also access passwords stored in Zoho vault with Siri Shortcuts by adding personalized phrases. How to enable autofill password on your iOS device? First, you need to update your device to iOS 12.  Apple recommends you to take a backup before you update your device to the latest

        • Recent Topics

        • Ask the Experts 21: Power up your support game with Zoho Desk Automation

          " In every business, there are tasks to automate, Zoho Desk helps with features that integrate Assignments to manage tickets and teams to align,Macros for quick actions and workflows to streamline Contracts and schedules to hold things tight, Plans run

        • If leads are assigned to a person before 4:00 PM and the stage is "Fresh Lead", then an email should be triggered at 4:00 PM to all assigned users. If leads are assigned after 4:00 PM and the stage is

          If leads are assigned to a person before 4:00 PM and the stage is "Fresh Lead", then an email should be triggered at 4:00 PM to all assigned users. If leads are assigned after 4:00 PM and the stage is "Fresh Lead", then the email should be triggered the

        • Multiselect lookup in subform

          It would be SO SO useful if subforms could support a multiselect look up field! Is this in the works??

        • Tasks as calendar events? What about a way to verify a meeting actually happened?

          I'm not sure how to best ask this, but i'm looking to add some guard-rails into zoho for the end-user. However for guardrails to be effective they can't really add extra steps for the end-user. i.e. every step that's added for the user, is another place

        • Attachments should sync between Zoho Finance in CRM and Zoho Books

          It would EXTREMELY helpful and practical if the attachments added to an invoice via Zoho Finance in CRM synced with the invoice updates in Zoho Books. Currently, attachments to an invoice updated in CRM DO NOT appear as attachments when viewing the same

        • Introducing a new home page view and UI enhancements for Dashboards

          Hello everyone,  In CRM, the home pages provide a quick view of the various happenings in a business with the help of dashboards. The home pages also help to organize one's and the team's day's work. There are three views in the home tab: Classic User's

        • Translation support expanded for Modules, Subforms and Related Lists

          Hello Everyone!   The translation feature enables organizations to translate certain values in their CRM interface into different languages. Previously, the only values that could be translated were picklist values and field names. However, we have extended

        • Call result pop up on call when call ends

          I’d like to be able to create a pop up that appears after a call has finished that allows me to select the Call Result. I'm using RingCentral. I have seen from a previous, now locked, thread on Zoho Cares that this capability has been implemented, but

        • Data Template Amending

          Hi, is it possible to remove data templates once you have applied them in Workdrive? Also, once I have added a new field to a data template can I mass update multiple files who have already been allocated that template and amend just that one added

        • Zoho Flow y subformularios de Zoho CRM

          Buenas tardes, En mi empresa vamos a empezar a usar los subformularios de zoho crm pero estos los voy a tener que rellenar con zoho flow ya que va a ser el encargado de rellenar dichos campos del subformulario. El problema es que a la hora de intentar

        • Recurring Invoices

          We are looking at moving our invoices to ZOHO Billing, I have started the trial period and like that I can et up for four different companies. The one feature we need which is mentioned in the documentation is Recurring Invoices so we can send our Rent

        • Implement Meeting Polls in Zoho Bookings

          Dear Zoho Bookings Support Team, We'd like to propose a feature enhancement related to appointment scheduling within Zoho Bookings. Current Functionality: Zoho Bookings excels at streamlining individual appointment scheduling. Users can set availability

        • Zoho Projects App update: Arabic and Hebrew language support

          Hello everyone! In the latest version(v3.10) of the Zoho Projects iOS app update, we have brought in support to access the app in RTL(Right to Left) languages (Arabic and Hebrew). Note: RTL is yet to be supported on the Calendar and Gantt charts modules

        • I want to cancel @mention group in the notes in Zoho CRM

          Hi Everybody, I want to prevent people from mentioning a specific group in notes in Zoho CRM. We have one group called Team Sales, and although we've asked users not to mention groups, they still mention the group name. My workaround is to change the

        • Kaizen #193: Creating different fields in Zoho CRM through API

          🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

        • How to install node packages in Zoho Creator cloud functions

          I wanted to create some functions which requires node packages like axios, fetch, multer etc., How and where can i install the node packages in Zoho creator to use it in Zoho creator Nodejs function.

        • Session "Ask Me Anything" Zoho France - Le 26 Juin 2025 14h à 17h (en Français

          Chers Utilisateurs, Vous cherchez à mieux comprendre Zoho CRM ou Zoho Desk ? Nos experts seront disponibles pour répondre à toutes vos questions lors de notre session Ask Me Anything. Rejoignez-nous ici pour en discuter en ligne. Pendant trois heures,

        • Option to Crop Existing Agent Image in Zoho One Directory

          Hello Zoho Team, We hope you're all doing well. We would like to request a small but useful enhancement to the Zoho One Directory. 🎯 Current Limitation At present, the system allows cropping an agent image only during the initial upload of an agent's

        • Introducing Sub-Accounts in Zoho Books!

          Hello Everyone, Sub-Accounts is LIVE! Yes, you read it right. The much needed and most requested feature is now live in Zoho Books. The sub-accounts feature in Zoho Books will help you to classify your accounts further which will give you a more detailed view of your accounts while running reports. You can create sub-accounts for the below Accounts: Asset Cost of Goods Sold Expense Liability Fixed Asset Other Asset Other Current Asset Long Term Liability Other Current Liability Other Liability Other

        • Sesión "Ask me anything" Zoho en Español - 26 de junio de 2025, de 14:00 a 17:00 (en español)

          ¡Hola Comunidad! ¿Quieres entender mejor Zoho CRM o Zoho Desk? Nuestros expertos estarán disponibles para responder a todas tus preguntas durante nuestra sesión "Ask me anything". Puedes comentar este artículo y durante tres horas, nuestro equipo estará

        • UI Update: We've Reorganized Invoice Settings

          Dear users, We’ve reorganized invoice settings to offer you a streamlined and intuitive experience when managing your subscriptions. Starting from 2 July 2025, subscription-related invoice settings will be accessible from a new page called Billing Preferences

        • Marketer’s Space – Automate Subscription Management for CRM Contacts Using Workflows in Zoho Campaigns

          Hello, marketers! Welcome back to Marketer’s Space. In this week’s post, we’ll look at how to simplify subscription management using Workflows for contacts synced from Zoho CRM in Zoho Campaigns. There are multiple ways to assign topics to your contacts:

        • CRM and Finance Tab - Add Invoice "Subject " Column

          When On a contact in CRM, and you click the Zoho Finace tab, how can I put in the invoice subject line? Or even a custom field for this.  We need to see what that invoice is for, without opening it.   If we have tons of invoices we need a way to quick

        • WhatsApp to shift to per-message billing from July 1, 2025

          Greetings Recruiters, If you’re using WhatsApp to connect with candidates through Zoho Recruit, there’s an important pricing change coming up that you’ll want to plan for. What’s changing? Starting July 1, 2025, WhatsApp is moving away from conversation-based

        • Implement full RTL support in Zoho Cliq, including text alignment and character positioning, regardless of the interface language.

          Dear Zoho Cliq Support Team, We are writing to request a significant enhancement to the current RTL language support within Zoho Cliq. Currently, while Zoho Cliq allows users to input text in RTL languages, the text alignment remains LTR, resulting in

        • Email Alerts with Affected Flow Details When Deprecating Modules in Zoho Flow

          Dear Zoho Flow Team, We would like to request an enhancement to the module deprecation process in Zoho Flow. 🧩 Current Limitation: Currently, when a module is deprecated by the Flow team: No email notifications are sent. There is no automated way to

        • are there Url parameters to group records in the report/view?

          There are URL parameters to filter records in target report.  Is there any way to group records in report by certain field, using URL parameters or embed report parameters? Or any other workaround, apart from creating second report for dofferent grouping?  Aim: I want to provide user a quick link to re-group embed report by different fields.

        • Setvalue() client script not working

          I have created a client script on the load the record(detail view page). I wanted to populate some default information in the single line field. for that I created the client script. below is the script: var field_obj = ZDK.Page.getField( 'Designation'

        • Power of Automation :: Automate Deal Status Update in Zoho CRM upon Project Completion.

          Hello Everyone, A Custom function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:

        • Leverage the power of Zia (AI) to create Marketing Projects in Zoho Marketing Plus

          Hey everyone, Zoho's advanced AI assistant, Zia, now works with OpenAI to offer personalized marketing activity suggestions for your marketing projects in Brand Studio. With information such as your campaign's objective, duration, marketing channel types,

        • Use Zoho Flow to Supercharge your Zoho FSM Integrations

          We are thrilled to announce that Zoho FSM is now included in Zoho Flow - Zoho’s powerful no-code integration platform. With this, you can connect Zoho FSM with your most-used applications—without requiring technical expertise. What does this offer? Zoho

        • Zoho Flow triggers not working

          Hi , I have set up a flow which triggers when a new record is created in a Zoho Creator app. This flow works great when I initiate the flow with  "test and debug". However the flow does not trigger in live mode.  I have tested all the connections used

        • Can you sync your Apple Calendar with Bigin Activities/calendar?

          I've searched everything I can find and nothing is coming up... I've got a number of things in my calendar for the future, and it would be easiest if I can sync between them to update my availability for my booking page (also syncing the other way would

        • How to track salesiq on google analytics without GTM

          Hello! We had to move the installation of the SalesIQ widget from GTM to directly do it in our wordpress site. The SalesIQ widget was being blocked by Adblockers which caused a lot of our visitors to not be able to see it. This issue was fixed from deleting

        • Custom Module Count

          We are on Zoho One. CRM says that the three modules which support Zoho Sign integration are "custom modules." Do these count against the 200 custom modules permitted by the One access to "enterprise-level" CRM features?

        • Marketer's Space: Bookmarks by Zoho Campaigns

          Hello Marketers, In this week's Marketer's Space, we'll look at a simple yet powerful feature that makes a big difference in your workflow: Bookmarks. Bookmarks is a built-in feature in Zoho Campaigns that enables you to create a personalized library

        • I need a custom AI Chatbot to be integrated with ChatGPT to Handle Customers inquiries

          I need a custom AI Chatbot to be integrated with ChatGPT to handle Customer inquiries, and save the data to Zoho CRM as a Leads, Also to schedule a demo with clients and more options

        • User Management > Agents request

          I have a few suggestions for the Agent page: 1) Please add a way to filter Full agents. The list currently shows Light agents as an option but sometimes it would be helpful to view only the full agent licenses or non-light agent. 2) Add the ability to

        • Mandate Assessments in Zoho Recruit's Candidate Application Form

          We're excited to announce the Include Assessment option for the Candidate Application Form, which lets you display the pre-screening assessment associated with the job opening along with the application form fields. This ensures that every candidate applying

        • Sending an email from contacts does not display the recipient's name correctly

          When I select a contact or group of contacts and then click the envelope to send mail, the contacts are added to the To section of a new email. Unfortunately, their First and last names are not displayed. The part of the email address before the @ sign

        • Next Page