12 Tips to avoid being scammed when buying online

We live in a world where it seems that we have less and less time to do all our tasks. It is much simpler to shop over the Internet, which is why they are becoming more and more common and popular. Despite its convenience, we still run the risk of not receiving what we purchased or receiving the wrong merchandise. Imagine how depressing it can be when you order a sleeveless top you love and receive a beautiful piece of clothing home… for your cat. That’s why we should all know the dangers of online shopping
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O awesome.club made a selection of the most useful tips you need to know to shop safely online.

Whenever you buy online, check the website for contact details to verify that it actually exists. Items that should be clearly mentioned are: company name, address, email, contact form and phone number. Do not trust any website just because its extension is European or North American. This does not guarantee that it is actually located in these countries.

There is a clear reason behind the fact that the biggest online selling sites like eBay have a comments section. This is done so that new customers can be confident that they are dealing with a trustworthy person or company and that previous sales have gone smoothly. So make sure you get a clear opinion based on reviews or ratings before buying something online.

The only information that should be required when purchasing online is your credit card details, address and telephone number. If the site asks for something additional, such as the number of other documents, voter registration or name of third parties (relatives, spouses, etc.), you should start to be suspicious.

When making an online purchase, there is always a risk that the item’s photo does not belong to the seller and/or has been taken from the Internet. Furthermore, it may also be that the merchandise is totally different from what you expected. One solution is to ask the seller to take a picture with a “brand” or “tag” with your name on a piece of paper or something else. If you are embarrassed to ask for this, see if the seller takes a picture right away to “demonstrate the measurements” with the hands, or close to the body so you can observe the dimensions. Something that proves that he really has the item you want. If he doesn’t want to do this, he may be suspicious.

Do not trust sites that do not have an SSL – Secure Socket Layer security protocol. You can verify this in several ways: a padlock symbol should appear in your browser’s address bar, and the first few letters in the address bar should change from “http” to “https”, especially when you get to the payment step. while shopping online.

You should check your bank, credit and debit card statements regularly rather than waiting for the physical invoice to arrive. This is important to control any fraudulent charges and take immediate action if there is an unknown charge by contacting your bank or card issuer.

Check the seller’s website carefully to make sure it looks like a professional page. Most fake websites have misspellings, low quality product images, etc. Also, beware of overuse of words like “cheap” and “direct selling”. Professional sellers call these things “big deals”, “big deals”, “sales”, etc.

Companies with a good reputation always have a page on their website about their privacy policy. It is very important to check this to ensure that the retailer is using your details for the purchase and nothing else. Even the most trusted companies may use your email for advertising and some may pass your details on to third parties.

Online sellers must provide clear and correct information about their consumer rights. For example, the right to a return of the item within 14 days or a legal guarantee of at least 2 years. If the merchant doesn’t have something like this mentioned on their website, consider not buying anything from them.

Everything in our world has its price. If a product on an online shopping site is too cheap, be suspicious. Of course, there is the possibility that there will be great offers. However, if the retailer is not popular and has no reputation, don’t risk it, because this is the main weapon that scammers use to get your attention. Without a doubt, you should be sure that the image of a certain item belongs to the seller because, again, the price can equate to a low quality or even fake product.

When making payments online, you must follow these 3 golden rules:

Always pay on a secure page (one that shows a padlock image next to the address or the URL starts with “https”). If possible, pay by credit card, so that you have the possibility to get your money back in case of fraud. Avoid as much as possible direct money transfers (TED or DOC) or bank deposits.

Registered delivery provides a tracking number in case you are away when your purchase is delivered or if your purchase is lost. In addition, this modality requires a signature when the product arrives, so that you can control whether it was received and by whom it was received, or if it has not yet been delivered. A registered delivery is the best way to track your purchase and one more guarantee that it will arrive. So why not use it?

Have you ever been scammed buying items online? Share your stories in the comments so others can stay tuned!