The internet has expanded our horizons indefinitely. With it, we’ve seen places we have never been to, we can experience different events and lives through the eyes of others and now, we can find just about anything.
That said, the internet has expanded our purchasing options to a global degree that we could simply shop for all our needs online. While the processes are simple, the possibilities presented by online shopping platforms have also ushered in a new era of crime.
“Online shopping fraud”
Though this isn’t exactly new. Online shopping fraud remains a low priority for law enforcement. As such, prosecution for such cases is rare despite them being quite rampant.
Fortunately for online shoppers, such scams have not gone unnoticed. While many have failed to receive reimbursement, their stories have made it possible for us to share how to protect ourselves from going through the same. Before we discuss that, let us first take a look at what entails online shopping fraud.
What is Online Shopping Fraud?
When purchasing an item, most if not all sites require customers or even visitors to input a few personal and/or financial information. These could include your phone number, email address, social security number, password, and even billing address.
Legitimate online retailers and shopping websites typically have systems to safeguard this information, however, scammers have come up with quite devious methods of their own such as credit card fraud, refund fraud, merchant fraud, card testing, friendly fraud, identity theft, and phishing.
While different protecting one’s self from all these fraudulent activities is possible through these methods:
Check Site Credibility
One of the biggest schemes scammers have devised involves redirecting a website’s traffic to a fake page. There, they are able to retrieve sensitive information by having users fill up an information sheet whilst believing they are still connected to the website or by installing malware into their machines.
Since this cyber attack is done by manipulating the DNS protocol of a legitimate site and rerouting it from its intended IP address to one created by a hacker, identifying these types of fraudulent shops/webpages can be quite difficult. Others may even go as far as creating a whole website entirely..
Fortunately, ICANN’s domain search tool, WHOIS can shed light as to who the domain registrant of a website is. This can help you decide whether or not it is a credible business. If not, you can also lookup Google and Yelp host reviews. Sifting through other’s feedback and experiences won’t just give you a peek at what you may be signing up for but these tools will also help you lookout for a potential scam.
Proceed with Caution when Sharing Private Information
Check a website first before giving out any private or financial information. Any encrypted site has a registered SSL Certificate and “https” in from the domain. To check for the SSL Certificate, look for a padlock before the URL.
If the website that you are on happens to have both, any information you impart will immediately be transferred to its website server. However, if upon simply purchasing an item, you are asked for your social security number, it would be best to recheck it entirely or better yet find other sources to purchase this item.
Read Between the Lines
Read thoroughly the fine lines if you found out the website seems confusing and questionable. Examine their page about the shipment, return policies, how refunds are being processed, and their privacy policy. Most of the scammers will hide some details from customers to try to get away with fraud.
Every business has its own set of guidelines. Shipping, return and privacy policies can easily be manipulated to a scammer’s advantage. Whether it’s on their own website or others. Thoroughly reading and understanding these guidelines can equip you with the knowledge to protect yourself in future purchases.
Check Contact Information
Although some stores purely operate online, this is quite uncommon. Most businesses maintain a company line, email address, and even physical address. If after all the steps above, you still aren’t sure about going through with a purchase, you can head to their contact page to get these.
If you manage to get hold of an actual person, you could also go through the fine lines of their website to gain a deeper understanding of their processes.
Always Ask for a Tracking Number
Once you’ve finally decided to go through with a purchase, never forget to get your confirmation and tracking number. Most online sellers rarely have their own shipping system and rely on courier companies instead.
With a tracking number, you can monitor your package every step of the way.
What to do if you still get scammed?
Once you realized you are still scammed,
- Contact Your Banks and Credit Card Companies.
- Reach Out to the Credit Bureaus.
- Submit a Complaint to the Federal Trade Commission.
- File a Police Report.
- Monitor Your Credit.