A Little Work, A Little Shopping - It's Cyber Monday
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Don't be surprised if see a co-worker doing a little online shopping during their lunch break.
It's Cyber Monday, the techno follow-up to Black Friday and the biggest day of the year for online sales.
"They have like 30% off, 40% off, 50% off, free shipping depending on what web site and what comp[any it is and you can find really great deals online instead of doing Black Friday shopping," said Jalissa Doughty, a cyber shopper.
A survey conducted by Career Builder shows 54 percent of employees are planning to shop while at work, that's up from 49 percent last year. Industry experts expect 131 million Americans will ship online for deals throughout the day compared to 129 million last year.
Those planning on taking advantage of the online deals should make sure they do it safely. Computer hackers have all kinds of ways to pry into your electronic accounts.
Don't take your laptop into a public place to sit and scroll through deals. Identity thieves have been known to set up their own networks at airports, cafes and anywhere that offers free WiFi. They lure shoppers onto their networks, which may even have the same name as the real one, and then proceed to access email and bank account information.
Another tip – make sure your privacy settings are tight on all social media accounts. The more interests you make available for the public to see, the more likely it is that an identity thief could send a fake "Special Offer" on something you might like. If you bite and get the deal, you'll be giving out your credit card number.
The National Retail Federation estimated that a record 141 million Americans went shopping over the four day holiday weekend, that's up from 137 million last year.
The bad news is they spent about three percent less which is the first time spending has fallen since the group started tracking numbers in 2006. Experts said deep discounts took a toll on retail sales.
Combining retail and online sales makes for a hectic day for shippers. Fed Ex said it will move 22 million shipments on Monday, or double the average daily amount.
