Much like Black Friday, news of Cyber Monday sales was “leaked” all across the Internet for a week before sales began, attempting to entice shoppers to save their holiday shopping for one of the biggest online shopping events of the holiday season. While brick and mortar stores pulled out all the stops on Friday, the online shopping extravaganza is the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend.

Sales are expected to be strong, with accessories for consumer’s other purchases running a strong contender for the lead product category to rake in the credit cards today. Free shipping is a big perk consumers look for on Cyber Monday, giving shoppers all the benefits of shopping from home at no extra cost than in store shopping.

The National Retail Federation predicts an increase in Cyber Monday shoppers this year, expecting 96.5 million American shoppers over 2008′s 85 million. 88.2 million of those folks will shop from home while a whopping 13.5 million have stated they have every intention of shopping while at work.

While the number of Cyber Monday shoppers is huge, it really isn’t the online market’s biggest shopping day of the year. It’s more of a kickoff to the holiday shopping season. The honor of biggest online shopping day is reserved for the true procrastinators who wait for the last day of shipping with guaranteed Christmas delivery.

If you plan on getting in on the shopping frenzy via the Internet this year, keep in mind some standard safeguards to prevent the Grinch from spoiling your day with viruses and identity theft. Make sure the computer you use has all the latest updates, as well as spam filters, antivirus software and spyware software. Print out copies of all your order verifications so you have documentation should you need it. Look for secure websites if you are entering private data such as name, address and banking or credit card information. To make sure a site is secure, check your browser bar. Instead of the usual http:// beginning to a web address, if it shows https:// that means you are on a secure site. This provides you with the greatest amount of protection for your personal information.

Watch out for suspicious holiday e-cards or social networking friend requests as well, because there will be plenty of scammers online trying to swipe your information.

Federal law protects your shipping date promises and says shipping must complete by the promised date or within 30 days or consumers can demand and receive a full refund.