What implications do they have on security?

With the exponential growth of online shopping applications, advantages have arisen when it comes to promoting e-commerce and new technologies as platforms to boost the market. However, the risks of purchasing on some platforms worry hundreds of consumers.

The most recognized apps today have similar models: Instead of a company selling items that belong to its brand, marketplace apps display items from a variety of sellers, according to the Internet Matters Organization.

Popular marketplace ‘Apps’ include Amazon, eBay and Etsy.

China offers a wide variety of products, including for the home.

Photo:istock

Temu, Shein, AliExpress and their data protection dilemmas

The same organization assures that “some applications promote a variety of items, including electronic products, at a very low cost. While this is very attractive, can lead to problems for users ranging from counterfeit products to data breaches. “Young people who use these apps are especially vulnerable to scams and, as a result, impacts on their well-being.”

Keep these recommendations in mind to make safe online purchases.

Photo:iStock

On the other hand, Javier Moreno, a cybersecurity expert at the Manuela Beltrán University, explained to EL TIEMPO what personal data is requested when entering applications.

”For customer registration, data is requested such as email, location (such as country, department, city, municipality, address, zip code), some basic customer data such as name, surname and cell phone, among others.”

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In terms of banking data, “payments for purchases can be seen that they receive credit cards, but they must be registered in the ‘payments section’ in the same application. They also give the possibility of using services already known here in Colombia, such as he PSE and Apple pay, which do correspond to reliable and recommended services”.

This is what the Shein website looks like.

Photo:Screenshot: Shein

José Marcial Téllez, cybersecurity expert at the Manuela Beltrán University, points out that in the specific case of Temu there is an important precedent regarding an alleged data breach.

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“Three years ago the same company (PDD Holdings) had an app called Pinduoduo. That application was basically eliminated as such from the stores of both Google and Apple, because it was determined that they escalated privileges within cell phones and could access users’ personal datato data from other applications and so on, taking advantage of certain vulnerabilities that existed in operating systems.”

As a result of that incident, “we must be careful because they can extract personal data,” according to the expert and his analysis of what happened with the Pinduoduo app. It should be noted that Temu has not commented on this case.

How to make safe purchases and not put your data at risk?

According to Moreno, “the ideal thing to do when making purchases is to verify that it allows payments through PSE, which is more secure. In addition, avoid registering cards and information directly in the application.”

Online shopping

Photo:IStock

Téllez points out that if you have already made a purchase in the applications, “as a first measure you should keep the credit card turned off. Second, remove the card from the application. Third, verify that the credit card with which you purchased uses dynamic verification code and always use it, never opt for the static code, but the dynamic one that changes depending on your bank.

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The expert is also emphatic about avoiding making purchases at Temu until the company provides explanations regarding the Pinduoduo data leak scandal.

Similarly, Moreno makes the same purchase recommendation. On the other hand, he explained that: “people who already have the application installed on their cell phone must perform the complete uninstallation and, when uninstalling, check that it deletes the data from the cell phone and that application. Additionally, when one deletes The apps must go to the official websites to see the step by step of how to delete an account or, if necessary, make a PQRS type request directly to the application with an email to indicate that you want the total deletion of the account. and the information about me as a client that appears in that account.