Essential Tips for Safe Online Shopping: Avoiding Scams on Major Retail Sites
A Bitter Truth: Online Scams Aren’t Slowing Down
If you’re fond of shopping online, staying safe and avoiding fraud is paramount. While it’s convenient for you to use e-commerce platforms to buy your favorite products, the internet is also a dangerous place for cybercriminals to find easy targets and turn them into scam victims.
Rapid digitalization gives fraudsters a huge opportunity to scam millions of online shoppers on major retail sites. Better Business Bureau reports warns ecommerce buyers to stay vigilant online to avoid fraudsters play their ticks and fool them.
Major retail store scams on Amazon, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Alibaba, and Craigslist aren’t diminishing anytime soon. According to the Experian report, ecommerce scams increased by 30% alone in 2017 compared to the previous year. This shows you need basic information and knowledge of eCommerce scams to avoid becoming a target of fraudsters.
Let’s dive deeper into eCommerce scams impersonating shoppers on major retail sites. The post delves into essential strategies and tips to help you shop safely online. Read till the end, you’ll learn how to use due diligence and save yourself from emotional, financial, and psychological distress.
What is an Online scam?
Any scam or fraud occurring online targets eCommerce customers like you on several major platforms. In the post-COVID-19 era, e-shopping scans increased massively with customers losing almost $20 billion to fraudsters. Imagine you enter your credit card information on Amazon or eBay and are asked to use another card to complete the transaction. Here, you are being fooled by a convincingly authentic-looking scammer hiding their identity behind the ecosystem.
Almost 66% of online shoppers feel emotionally drained and decide not to use major online retailers for fear of losing their precious assets and information. It’s time you know what type of e-commerce scams exist to avoid stressful situations.
1. Brand impersonation
Brand impersonation means a scammer is trying to sell online looking like a trusted retailer and deceiving shoppers. Customers often put in their personal credit card or bank information. It’s the most common form of fraud that fools buyers into thinking they are getting official company emails from a brand’s customer service team. Guess what? You end up giving them your sensitive personal information.
2. Friendly or Chargeback Scam
Chargeback fraud is another eCommerce scam that is perpetrated by consumers. Chargeback fraud occurs when consumers use their credit card to make a transaction and then, after receiving their order, ask their bank for a chargeback. The top reasons for such issues include the discontentment of buyers with the platform and their inability to realize the charge on their bank statement.
3. Refund scams
Similar to chargeback fraud, refund scams include clients requesting a refund directly from the merchant instead of going via their bank. Consumers who fall victim to refund scams will falsely claim they never received the item in order to obtain a refund. Customers who think they can get away with it will try refund schemes.
More common types include:
- Phishing websites
- Marketplace scams offering discounted items in exchange for advanced charges
- Delivery scams containing malicious software sent through emails to bring consumers on fake websites.
Tips for Avoiding Online Shopping Scams
1. Only Use Credible or Familiar Platforms
Google search results are often enough to mislead you to open an untrusted website or infect your device with malware. Amazon has strong security, so a decent deal is possible without an inherent risk. Some retailers misspellings with a different top-level domain such as.io instead of.com and gain access to your card information. Avoiding them holistically is your No.1 priority.
2. Always Research the eCommerce Website before Trying
Do your homework and research a website before purchasing if you have concerns about it. Luckily, you can find the Better Business Bureau online directory to spot a scammer. Or, you can read many retailer reviews on Google and Yelp. The bottom line is to avoid entering your precious credit card information into those platforms without researching them.
3. Erase Your Personal Information from Forms You Fill
Beyond your shipping address and payment method, an online store has nothing to do with your date of birth mother’s name, or even your social security number. So, if they ask you these, you should either not fill the entire form or erase it from there. This way, scammers won’t know anything about you without keeping your personal information even on major retail platforms.
4. Don’t Use Your Debit Card to Shop Online
Scammers might gain immediate access to your bank account if your card is hacked. Instead, when you shop online, only utilize a credit card instead of a debit card. Moreover, you can ensure safety by using a mobile app to make online payment.
5. Stay Private While Using Public Wi-Fi
Only rely on popular and credible networks when shopping at public hotspots. For instance, Barnes & Noble or Starbucks are often considered decently safe. Use a virtual private network (VPN) to keep your privacy while using public Wi-Fi. That will hide your personal information from malicious scammers hunting for your hard-earned money.
Final Words: The Bottom Line
Since online fraudsters are getting cleverer each day, they make mistakes too. Understanding their games and how they spot and trap innocent buyers like you can become a crucial weapon to reduce online scams. The bottom line is that scammers will always develop more sophisticated ways to deceive you in even major retail stores and exploit your lack of knowledge vulnerabilities.
We recommend practicing caution and staying vigilant online. Before putting in your bank or card information, double-check the credibility of the platform, cross-check the details of sellers, and use encrypted payment gateways to avoid financial and mental pain or anxiety.
