How to protect yourself while online shopping for the holidays

With many retailers offering internet-only promotions to go along with their in-store doorbusters, more Americans than ever seem to be choosing to stay home to take advantage of the best deals of the season.

Research from Visa projects an 18 percent increase in online holiday spending this year, which follows 16 percent growth over the 2015 season from the year before. That uptick in 2015 resulted in about $11 billion of online sales over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend period (Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday).