Thanksgiving’s over, Black Friday’s ended, and our long weekend has come to a close. However, the Christmas season has not yet begun. We still have one event coming up on this very day, Cyber Monday!

What is Cyber Monday, one may ask? Just like Black Friday, it’s a holiday created by retailers, trying to find a way to help people shop for presents for the upcoming events and increase their profits in doing so. Unlike Black Friday, this occasion is done completely online with sales beyond beliefs.

Although it is on December 2nd this year, the date of this “holiday” can span from anywhere between November 26th to December 2nd, depending on when Thanksgiving is. The first Cyber Monday came to play in 2005, 14 years ago encouraging people to shop online.

While we are online though, we must be careful to watch out for scams and schemes,  during this season everyone must be on guard. Greed is within a lot of people, even in times of giving and sharing. To be safe, make sure to use trustworthy sites such as Amazon or Walmart or ones you have used before. Also, remember that the Nigerian prince in your emails is most likely not true royalty.

Along with keeping an eye on the legitimacy, be sure to focus on the sale and see if you’re really getting as good as a deal as you think. There are tricks businesses use to make it seem like there’s a larger sale; setting things to original higher profits, using confusing words to state the sale, or even simply using the color red (which is most often used to show cheapening).

“Cyber Monday is a great way to get my Christmas shopping done quickly and at a lower price, minus the anxiety of crowds (like Black Friday),” Jordan Rossen said, and that is exactly the point. Have a happy holiday season and look out for the sales!