Shopping online today is a very popular thing. More and more of them are happening on the Internet.
How to shop online: Get feedback
Often dishonest online sellers who don’t plan to send you anything, try to create the appearance of serious and quality work. To do this, they add fake rave reviews to the site. And usually such comments are written by hired copywriters, who are ridiculously ridiculous for their money, and are easily impersonated:
- texts from “different” clients have the same turnover;
- spelling and language errors are repeated;
- sometimes abstract descriptions like “excellent quality”, “decent price”, “very liked” are used.
Often the reviewer just doesn’t have enough time to study the product, so it happens in general phrases.
Comments are published “in bulk”: in a couple of days, a dozen positive reviews, often at the same interval, then after a break (at the copywriter out), the situation repeats.
Even the smallest online store is trying to get social media pages. Look for reviews here as well, and at the same time see how account holders respond to complaints: ignore them, argue with a buyer, or try to resolve a problem.
Buy through official apps
They own many large online stores, and they often have far fewer vulnerabilities than websites. Add-ons are equally beneficial to both the seller and the buyer. An online store can remind itself at any time by sending push messages with promotional codes or other news to a customer’s smartphone. And sometimes the buyer gets a bonus for installing the program.
When downloading the app, make sure it is officially official. Check developer information (usually listed directly below the name icon). The App Store or Google Play can also find a list of all apps from the developer and their contact information.
Check the address bar of the site
However, if you are not using an app but a site, always carefully review its site:
- even minimal spelling mistakes (extra letter or hyphen) can lead a buyer to a fake resource whose interface is similar to the original;
- it is safer to enter a site address manually rather than navigating to it through a search query.
If you can not only order but also buy a product from an online store, make sure that the site uses 3D Secure to ensure payment security. Its presence is indicated by logos of payment systems with the inscriptions Verified by Visa, MasterCard Secure Code and Mir Accept. The billing page address must start with https. Next to it will be an image of a green lock, click on it and select “View Certificates” from the menu. The certificate that this site has been issued has been verified and has not expired.
Use a separate card to pay for your purchases
In the area of online shopping, the level of fraud is steadily increasing, so if possible, pay for purchases on the Internet not with a salary card.
Issue an additional debit card for such shopping and be sure to connect mobile banking to receive transaction notifications. Specify in your bank how to set a limit on purchases and whether you can limit the amount of transfers and cash withdrawals. This is to prevent fraudsters from transferring all their money to their accounts at one time, even if they have access to your card details.
And in no case send money to an electronic wallet or seller’s ID card, especially until the moment of receipt of the goods.
Get a special mailbox
And use it exclusively for online purchases. Your primary email can store a lot of important and confidential information down to the draft, where you add passwords from all services and scans of documents (never do so). In addition, you probably use it to access your accounts on social networks. You can imagine the magnitude of the disaster if scammers gain access to this box (for example, when you specify it when making a purchase in an unreliable online store).
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