Essential tips to avoid online e-commerce scam for safe online shopping
It is rightly said that things that are done in limit can never harm you. In this era of the digital world, e-commerce market has gained a maximum traction. Online shopping has now become everyone’s favorite as individuals don’t need to move out and can buy anything from anywhere anytime. It can be easy, cost-effective and safe if proper precautions are taking before making any purchase. Here are the few buying guides that you need to keep in mind while doing online shopping.
1. Trust encrypted websites only
Not all e-commerce sites are safe online shopping. It is recommended that you should limit your shopping from the websites that take the details in the encrypted form. Check the green padlock icon on the URL to verify that the site is trusted. The padlock symbol specifies that the site has SSL (Secure socket layer) encryption.
2. Click with care
Daily we used to get a lot of emails specifying the shopping offers of the weekend, holidays, festive seasons etc. While they may be genuine however there are chances that some of the offers are coming from criminals or hacked websites. These types of offers can take up your password in a very tricky way or force you to visit a site that has malicious code. Your best safety would be to not click on links even though they seem to be legitimate.
3. Make use of strong passwords
Passwords can act as defense manager and also sometimes can put you in danger. It is always recommended that use different complex passwords for every shopping website that you use frequently. These ways it will keep your information safe. It is also advised that we should keep changing our passwords on regular basis.
4. Check customer service support
All the online shopping websites have their toll free customer support number and email address which is readily available. Many researchers recommend that before placing an order explores the site fully so that you may not face any issue in case if you want to return or want a refund of the item. If the website has these policies mentioned it gives a good sign of credibility to the buyer.
5. Avoid disturbing pop-up ads
It a common practice of all the retailer sites to show pop-up ads for promotions, offer flyers, and newsletters. Buyer should be cautious about these phishing tricks. These pop –up ads are a way for hackers to distract and fool online shoppers. Install ad blockers to avoid these malicious pop -ads while shopping on the unfamiliar websites.
6. Always check your credit card statement
Researchers recommend that online shoppers should always check their credit card statements even after the purchased good has been received. It is always a nice move to make sure that there were no unseen charges applied, or unknown amount deducted from your account accidentally.
7. Use security solution
Invest in good security solution suite that offers a two-way encryption, antivirus installation, firewall, and other tools to protect your PC from the virus. For mobile devices, install the payment applications, online shopping apps from the trusted store like Google play store or app store in case of iOS apps. This will reduce the risk of being infected by malware or viruses.
8. Use secure Wifi connections
Everybody wants a free with unlimited usage of wifi. However, no one knows the risk of the use of public wifi connection. While doing online shopping from public wifi connection knowingly or unknowingly we enter personal and financial information’s over the net which puts us in trouble as these networks are unsecured. According to Norton Report, about 44 percent of Wi-Fi users use the public or unsecured connection to shop online.
9. Use encrypt Keystrokes and Bypass Keyloggers tools
As the digital means of communication is increasing and so does the cyber crimes. Many applications are available that allows a cybercriminal to track all the keystrokes on your keyboard. With the help of keyloggers cybercriminals used to access all the information and passwords that are entered by us while making an online purchase. Experts suggest that the easiest way to get away from these is to use encrypted keystrokes to bypass keyloggers.
10. Browse the familiar websites only
It is always advisable that online shoppers should stick to the websites that they are familiar with. Going to the website that offers lower cost or attractive offers might put you in trouble while making an online purchase. It is also recommended that online shoppers should always check the authenticity of the online portal by using safe browsing tools thus protecting them against the online cyber scams.
11. Shop safely via mobile devices
National Retail Federation says that approximately 5.7 percent of the users use mobile devices to browse the items and make the purchase online. There is no harm in making a purchase via mobile however it is always recommended that online shoppers should shop from the reputed and credible applications like Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra. They will reduce the effort of going to market and protect you from the cyber crimes as well.
12. Know the actual price
Before making a purchase from the online site, shoppers should be well versed with the original price of the item including sales tax, handling cost and shipping charges. These charges have a huge impact on the actual cost of the item. Many online sites offer free shipping during the festive and holiday seasons. It is advice able that before making a purchase buyer should check the prices physical stores so that they can get the idea of price.
Conclusion
When the daily headlines are filled with lots of cybercrime news, it might scare the online shoppers. So instead of getting trapped in the game plan of these hackers, you should take all the precautions mentioned above for better shopping experience. If you are an addict to online shopping, you must change your password regularly and check back twice the information that you have provided to the online site.
Stay Safe and Shop Online Happily!
