5 Ways to Protect Yourself While Shopping on the Internet

Published On: December 9th, 2013|Last Updated: January 7th, 2023|Categories: WordPress|Total Views: 1947|Daily Views: 2|
Internet provides you with the opportunity to shop online. So there is no end to the extent your access can expand once you choose electronic media for your shopping. However, those who shop online must also know that internet is susceptible to fraudulent activities. When you shop online you need to provide all your banking information for payment thereby making yourself a potential victim for online fraud. This article addresses the online shoppers to make them aware of all the undesirable things that can happen to them while shopping online and how to protect themselves from the same.

Instructions

  1. Reputable Sites: When you scour the internet you will come across plenty of sites offering attractive deals. But your best chance of making a safe purchase is when you do it through a site with better reputation, like eBay or Flipkart. No sites can absolutely be immune to scams with the kind of tricks hackers across the world have mastered, but at least the most reputed ones will provide their users with superior security features to deal with undesirable intrusions. Many well known brands like Seers, offer their entire product line online. You can shop from these sites since they are reliable and also offer round the clock customer care services which can be made use of in case you have a problem.
  2. Security: Before you choose an appropriate online shopping site, please make sure that you visit the “Checkout” page to have a look into its security documentation. The information in this page makes the customers cognizant of the security measures the site has taken to keep the hackers at bay. This may come in the form of a padlock icon or an “SSL” or “Verisign” graphic. The page may also list the antivirus program the site uses or how regularly the site updates its security. You should choose a site for online shopping only after being convinced that it will be safe for you to perform transactions which involves sharing credit card details.
  3. Avoid Temptation: Once you are shopping online do remember that an offer which may look too lucrative often turns out to be a complete flimflam. If a site is offering you iPhone 5 for Rs 5000 then without a doubt it is a scam. Before you avail such splendid offer please ensure the site is a proper authorized vendor’s site and also confirm what kind of sale is going on, if required call its customer care executive for the same.
  4. Use PayPal: If you really want to shop online, the best way to protect yourself from online scams is by signing in with PayPal. With PayPal it is safer to go for online shopping, as you transfer your fund to PayPal which in turn will pay the seller on your behalf. Thus your important banking details are shielded from people who can misuse them. PayPal will also protect you in case you have already got scammed after signing with them and they will even make refunds. PayPal is also having anti fraud department which will take care of the customer who has conned. PayPal is working with major e-Shopping sites such as Ebay, Myntra etc. As a preventive measure it is advisable not to disclose the credit card detail to the shopping sites to stay protected.
  5. Check Return Policy: Before you are making a purchase get the clarity on the return policies of the shopping sites as different sites have different policies for return in case a product is not found satisfactory. There are stores which may ask for the freight charges or re-stocking fee, so it’s better to get all the information on return policy. Some time you may buy a product on some offer which does not allow replacement or return, hence also take a note of the same before purchasing.

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