Though shopping online is much beneficial, you need to be careful. Many holiday online shopping scams are seen these days because of internet fraud users. Careless holiday shopping results you in purchasing from fake and unscrupulous retailers. You may lose much money or receive poor-quality merchandise because of them. Hence it is necessary to be attentive and alert while shopping online. Here are some tips to avoid holiday shopping scams.
- Ensure that the retailer is familiar and has good reputation. Check that the site is legitimate.
- While browsing in the internet, you may come across some pop-up windows. Avoid entering any personal and financial information in such pop-up windows. This is because no retailer requests to mention such information through email or pop-ups.
- Comparing prices from different sites can be helpful. However, ensure that your system is secured.
- Get aware of skimmers which capture the credit or debit card information. Be careful while you pay for the purchases through credit and debit cards.
- Go through the transaction policies such as delivery and return policies, refund information, shipping and payment options, and so on.
- Ensure that the site owns a privacy policy where your personal and financial information is not distributed to other companies or individuals.
- You need to check the credit card statements regularly for any unauthorized charges.
- Install a secure firewall and anti-virus software in order to protect from spam, viruses, and hackers.
- Check the url of the website before you enter financial information. It should read “https” where s indicates that the personal information is encrypted and kept safe from hackers.
- Smishing is a type of phishing through a text message. You may get a message that your back account has a problem that should be cleared immediately. A number may be provided in the message. When you use the number, the hackers play a trick that may give up your account number and password. If you receive such messages, avoid using the number provided and call your bank to resolve the problem.
Following these tips can help you enjoy the fun part of holidays and avoid any stress and scams. You can relax by following certain safety guidelines when shopping online.