A lot of consumers these days are oblivious to the dangers usually associated with online shopping. Because they are too busy scouting for excellent deals, they let their shields down and soon enough, they fall prey to the schemes and machinations of fraudsters that lurk in popular shopping sites.
Now, if you are an avid online shopper and you wish to avoid getting ripped off by internet swindlers, then we suggest that you pay close attention to the tips that we have enumerated in the remainder of this article.
Five Online Shopping Tips
• Use only reputable shopping sites. Make sure that you use well-established and credible shopping sites. After all, a majority of these sites have perfected the features for an enjoyable yet secure online shopping experience. They do not just offer cheap and beneficial merchandise to their consumers. They also see to it that their web pages have sufficient security features that will help safeguard their online patrons from the following:
* individuals who may wish to gain illegal access to the personal and credit information of online shoppers, and from
* the malicious software that fraudsters employ to spy on the activities of consumers.
• Run background checks on prospective vendors. Before you close a deal with an online shop or merchant, it is a good practice to conduct a thorough investigation on the vendor that you wish to do business with. Try to gather sufficient information about the credibility of the individual or commercial establishment, the transactions they have completed as well as the comments and reactions of consumers that they have previously dealt with. Then use such information in deciding whether or not to push through with your purchase.
• Check the security of the web page before disclosing your personal and credit information. It is also important that you check the security features of the web page you are viewing before you enter your personal, credit or PayPal account details. Look for any of the following security indicators:
* the code "https" in the URL bar, where -s stands for "secure"
* a padlock icon beside the URL bar
* the logo of VeriSign and/or other organizations that provide accreditation for website security.
• Charge your transactions on your credit card or on your PayPal account. Aside from allowing you to enjoy cashless transactions, your credit card or PayPal account can also give you the special privilege of withholding payments for defective items. Since online shoppers do not usually have the chance to inspect the items that will be shipped to them, credit card companies and their affiliates came up with provisions that will help uphold the rights of consumers not to pay for malfunctioning or unsatisfying merchandise. Truly a beneficial feature that will work to the advantage of avid online shoppers, like you.
• Learn from the experience of other consumers. We also advise you to read the accounts of consumers who got ripped off by the activities of online fraudsters. For sure you will learn a lot form their personal stories, which will in turn help strengthen your resolve to protect your identity as well as your credit and financial information every time you shop using an internet portal.