Christmas: Tips To Avoid Being Scammed While Shopping Online

Without a doubt, the yuletide season comes with a lot of activities. The season of festivities is usually characterised by shopping, travelling, and lots of merriment.

For ease of buying, you may need to shop online. However, it is pertinent to stay safe while shopping online during Yuletide celebrations

In this piece, The PUNCH highlights six tips to help a shopper avoid being scammed while shopping online.

Patronise authentic vendors

For online shopping, patronise authentic vendors. Avoid pop-up ads which may contain malware. It is advisable to visit a trusted e-commerce site or online shopping website.

Before purchase, check if it is indeed a real company or authentic vendor. When in doubt, you can look up the name, company name, address, contacts, etc.

Beware of offers that are too tempting in terms of price

It is not uncommon to be drawn to particularly low prices on the Internet.

Unfortunately, this is sometimes the starting point for scams. Before even thinking about buying your product, consider comparing its price on different websites.

After making these comparisons, if the offer seems too good to be true, it is recommended that you do not proceed with the purchase of the product.

Read reviews to check authenticity

The experience of other Internet users can also enlighten you. To get this, you can simply type in your search engine the name of the site or the seller, possibly associated with the term “scam”.

This will allow you to check if other buyers have had bad experiences with the seller in the past.

Don’t share sensitive information

Avoid sharing sensitive information such as debit card number, bank verification number, and transaction PIN.

For deliveries, be sure you trust the company before giving out your exact address. When in doubt, you can select an open location (eatery, park, malls, etc) to receive your package.

Secure your payment

When paying, check that the site you are on is secure. The site address should start with “https: //” with a closed padlock at the top of the browser window.

It is also recommended to ask your bank to set up a double precaution to make your purchase. It could be a confirmation via your bank’s mobile application or a code (One Time Password) received by SMS.

For transactions between individuals, choose sites offering a guarantee, meet your interlocutor physically, demand payment in cash, and request a tracked shipment.

Read the general conditions of sale carefully

This is all the information communicated by a seller to his client before the sale of a good. All e-commerce sites and online stores have an obligation to communicate with them.

This information may appear as pop-ups or at the bottom of the page. Though they may seem long and boring, it is advised that you read them to avoid being scammed.

Online shopping sites may offer you to save your bank details so that you do not have to enter them again during another purchase. You are advised against accepting because the security of bank data is not always guaranteed.

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Source: The PUNCH