This article covers everything you need to know about how to avoid financial scams when shopping online. Trust me, this piece has been put together through first hand experience, running online marketplace like travla.xyz, an online product and services marketplace.
Financial scams are the order of the day lately. Most scammers consist of different con artists and cybercriminals, who are getting craftier and also getting more sophisticated gradually by the day. They exploit and swindle people of their hard-earned money. They rob people of their sweat in broad daylight.
Also, Scammers tend to make use of festive periods, rush hours also, like Black Friday deals because during this period, there are more people shopping online. Most people also tend to use these periods to get cheaper items and purchase gifts for friends and family and like i have always said, greed is the mother of all losses. So read the following points carefully and you will be fine.
How to avoid Financial Scams When Shopping Online – The 8 Tips
1. Being on the lookout for possible online scams:
As an online shopper, look out for typographical errors, bad usage of english, wrong spelling, weird links that is shortened with bit.ly or a similar service. These are the easiest signature for online scams. When in actual doubt of an information, it is necessary that one verifies the information by checking with the official trusted sources. The first step to take is to call the number listed on the company’s website.
Also, most people make the mistake of sending their personal information to people they have not met.Â
Any requests for payment via cryptocurrency, online payment apps, online debit cards, and also gift cards. These are signs for one to be on the lookout as they are clear signs of a scam.
2. Be conscious of your statement of account:
When shopping online, be conscious of your statement of account. Don’t hesitate to report to security bodies once you suspect any form of illegal unauthorized misconduct as it might be a tactic for scammers to check whether the account is active before further operation or step is taken.
3. Mode of payment
As an online shopper, take cognizance of your mode of payment. Use a credit card when shopping online and check your statement or online account consecutively.
When in doubt of a transaction, make possible findings by reaching out to the credit card company to dispute the charge. Also set up notification text or email alerts to let you be aware when your credit card is used.
Also do not make the mistake of sending money directly to a seller or pay for items by using prepaid gift cards. These are popular ways for scammers to gain access to your account. Instead of using a gift card for your payment, scammers will take the money and you may likely never receive the item.
4. If possible, Avoid public networks
When shopping online, if possible, avoid connecting to free public Wi-Fi networks. Online scammers can prey on public networks and hinder your online activities.
Some public attachments, mails, texts, can serve as baits on public websites, so, if possible avoid them. Online scammers try to get their targets to click on links and also share their personal details such as their name, passwords or their bank details.
Scammers can also send a link scam, which can be a link to a receipt for something that was not purchased. Another danger of clicking on unknown links is that one could also be unknowingly downloading their virus onto your device. Do not click these links, as they are a form of bait. Instead, delete the text and block the number from your contacts.
Scammers are on the go and they can also set up fraudulent hotspots for their targets to connect to, so if possible avoid shopping or banking online using public networks, Wi-Fi and others.
5. Using a strong password
As an online shopper, your password strength must not be weak. Use a strong password when creating accounts with online stores. Be sure to use strong and unique passwords.Â
6. Make proper Findings
Do proper research before shopping online from a platform for the first time. Make proper Findings by doing some research work and checking out the platforms website for people’s reviews.
Look out for any complaints that have been filed about the site in question. For online marketplace websites, be sure to always check a seller’s feedback rating. Beware of sellers with mostly negative feedbacks or no ratings at all.
If possible, use common platforms that people use to shop like jumia, konga, Amazon, jiji, travla.xyz and a host of others to avoid falling into wrong hands.
7. Shopping directly
It is advisable when shopping to go directly to the online stores website using your web browser, instead of clicking directly on email or social media links.
Look out for websites that do not have privacy policies, T&Cs, or information on ways of contacting customer service.
8. Always ude secured modes of payment
When shopping online, be guarded and stay alert. Avoid Online stores or ads that will request you to use non-secure payment methods.
Once you are suspicious of a transaction, quickly contact your credit card company to cancel the transaction. Be on alert and also set up notifications for email alerts to alert you when your credit card has been tampered with.
Payment can be in the form of bank transfers, using gift cards, and other electronic currencies like Bitcoin. Most of these methods can make it hard to recover or trace lost money. Scammers prefer these modes of payment as it makes their tracks untraceable and untrackable.
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