Consumers are opting out of the mall experience and into the laptop, tablet, and phone shopping experience online. The research on consumer shopping shows that twenty to thirty percent of people end up messing their credit card balance by succumbing to online shopping swindles. This article will be exploring the tips on how to avoid fraud in online shopping. The online shopping environment is convenient and worth trying out for your needs, but that should only be after you get sufficient protection of yourself against the manipulative and criminal intents of some individuals and companies.
Be careful when clicking links
Many blogs today will offer reviews of products available online and they provide various ways of dealing with the payment obstacles that a buyer may face online. However, not all links to a page are the same. Some links will take you to an email sign-up page and then result in a flood of emails with offers on what to buy and things to do online. They are some of the most untrusted sources to think about. If a site wanted to sell you something, it should take you to the sales page. A link from an email should tell you about the product and take you to the sales page. However, most people find themselves on pages that only require details without really offering anything in return.
How to check real email links
The order confirmation emails should arrive immediately after you order something. The thank you email is not the order email, but in most cases, it also comes, and that can indicate a scam.
The website where the email is coming from should have a legitimate looking A address. If you are shopping at XYZ, then you should expect something like noreply@xyz in your emails. When the domain names are different, then it implies that you might be in for a scam.
Always double check the sender’s email as you never know what else might be in the picture. Sometimes the fraudsters try to mimic popular sites, but they use a different domain.
Always hover before clicking, and you should see the destination of the link at the status bar of your browser, and for this reason, you are better off shopping from your laptop browser with protection software such as antimalware and anti-trojan software.
Run away when it is too good
When the deal seems too good, run away because you are better off staying with your money than being a victim of a swindle.
Use prepaid cards
You should also transfer your shopping money to a prepaid card so that you can only lose a little bit when the worst thing happens. The benefit of prepaid cards also comes from the separation of your bank account. These cards associated with the issuing firm such as a shopping store and not your bank.
Use strong passwords
You should change passwords often, and you should use strong passwords. Furthermore, try to use a different password for every website you create an account with or shop.