Fraudulent online shopping

The popularity of online shopping due to the advantages associated with it has made more consumers patronize e-commerce sites. Individuals can now make purchases in the comfort of their homes or place of work with their credit cards and have them delivered to their doorstep.

There is room to make choices since you will get the descriptions of what you want and have a lot of online vendors who offer the same goods to make comparisons.

The anonymity of online shopping has been of great advantage to cybercriminals. They penetrated the industry with fake sites that look like the original site and offer the exact goods the real sites are offering but at a lower price to lure people. Some of their victims received the fake quality of the product they ordered, while some lost their money entirely.

How do you dictate if you are about to be scammed by them? Below are signs to look out for, while trying to make an online purchase: Their offers are way beyond the normal prices if you compare them with others. They demand to be paid through a gift card, money order, or wire transfer and sometimes look desperate.

Their sites have a lot of errors to dictate if you look closely, and they lack corporate personal information.

They sometimes entice you to sign up or download an app to unlock a gift or discount code.

With all these signs to look out for, here are safety tips to avoid falling into their net: Always compare prices with other retailers to know their differences. Go through their service terms and privacy policies and avoid transacting with them if they don't look real.

Make your purchase with a credit card which have you covered to some certain level if you fall victim to cyber fraudsters.
Don't give out more information other than your shipping address and your billing permits.

Check if their phone number and shop address are genuine to know who to call or where to take your complaint.

Avoid clicking on any e-commerce site you come across. Make your purchase on a trusted site, and always trade as a visitor, other than opening an account with them.