Online shopping is one of the most convenient ways to purchase a variety of imported products and services. However, it is not without risks. Scammers are always on the lookout for possible victims, so it’s important to be careful when shopping online. Here are some tips that will help keep you safe from frauds and scams:
Safe Surf!
- Use a secure browser for online fraud prevention.
- Utilize a VPN
- Use a password manager
- Avoid public WiFi networks
- Don’t click links in emails or messages from unknown senders
Use Unique Passwords
To protect your personal data and accounts, it is important to use a unique password for each account. You should also use long passwords (with at least 10 characters) with a combination of letters and numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols.
We recommend using an encrypted password manager to avoid using the same or similar passwords across multiple sites and services. A good example of such software would be Dashlane or LastPass.
In addition to creating strong passwords for your online accounts, don’t share them with anyone! Ideally, you should create a new one every 3-6 months because hackers are always ahead of us when it comes to finding ways how they can crack those codes faster than we change them.
Avoid Spam Mails
How do online frauds work? Spam emails are your worst enemy when it comes to online shopping. They can contain viruses and malicious software, which can be very dangerous for your computer.
If you receive spam emails from unknown email ids, do not reply to them. Spam emails usually contain phishing scams and links to malicious websites.
Keep Your Personal Information Private
- Don’t share your personal information. Some frauds are carried out by phishing, meaning that criminals send emails to a large number of people, tricking them into giving up their personal data. This is why it’s important to be careful not to give out any details online that could be used for identity theft or other purposes.
- Don’t share your credit card details. If you decide to use an online payment method such as PayPal or Amazon Pay, make sure that the website you’re buying from is secure and trustworthy – otherwise, they could easily steal your money before they send the product!
- Don’t share your bank account details. If you do decide to pay with a debit or credit card online (which isn’t recommended), don’t give away any extra information like account numbers or expiry dates; this will help prevent hackers from stealing money from your bank account too!
Secure Your Computer From Hackers
- Install anti-virus software for online fraud protection.
- Update your operating system regularly.
- Use a firewall.
- Install anti-spyware software.
- Use strong passwords for all of your accounts, especially the ones with sensitive data such as credit card numbers or bank account information.
- Don’t open attachments from unknown sources and avoid shady browsing websites or clicking on suspicious links in emails that you receive out of the blue — they may contain malicious code that will infect your computer, allowing hackers to steal personal information stored on it or even use it to commit other crimes like identity theft and credit card fraud without you even knowing about it until too late!
Shop From Trusted Websites Only
To avoid scams and fraud, the next step is to shop from trusted websites only. At the same time, you should avoid websites that do not offer a secure payment option, have a physical address and contact details on their website, and/or do not have a privacy policy, as they are likely to be fake.
If you don’t know whether a website is genuine or not, there are many ways in which you can check. For example:
- Check if a physical address is mentioned on their website to avoid online fraud.
- Research if they offer free shipping for orders above $50
- Check if they provide customer service via live chat or email
Inspect the Credibility of a Website
How to avoid online fraud? Before you buy from a website, it’s important to check out the credibility of that site. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Does the website have SSL encryption? If it doesn’t, don’t make any purchases on that site. A secure website will have “HTTPS” in front of its URL and show a lock symbol on your browser bar.
- Does it have contact information? You should be able to find contact information for both customer service and billing if you need help with anything related to your order or payment issues.
- What is its physical address? If they won’t tell you where they’re located, there’s probably a reason!
Check For Secure Payment Options
To be aware of fraud prevention online payment, you should always check for secure payment options. If you’re shopping online, the payment systems should be the most important factor to consider. You’ll need to use a credit card or another trusted payment system.
The list below is what you can do to make sure that your online shopping is secure:
- Use a credit card instead of a debit card for payments.
- Check for secure payment options on the retailer’s website.
- Always check if the site has a ‘padlock’ icon visible in their browser bar or not – this means that they have implemented SSL security certificates and hence are safe enough to use!
Secure Your Mobile Device
- Lock your mobile device
- Set up a PIN or fingerprint scanner
- Install an anti-virus
- Use an anti-theft application
Plan Ahead and Expect Delays
The next step that you can take to avoid being a victim is to plan ahead. While no one likes waiting, there are times when you have no choice but to wait for your items to arrive.
If you know that an item will be delayed in shipping, it is best if you order the imported products online closer to the time of its release. This way, there will be less risk of fraud and scams happening during delivery or processing. It is also advisable not to go with high-value items because these may attract scammers who want easy targets for their schemes.
Don’t panic if something does go wrong! Just remember that everything will eventually get sorted out in the end once all parties involved have come together and discussed possible solutions for whatever problem has occurred (this could include refunds). Don’t hesitate to ask for someone else’s help if the worst comes to worst!
Final Words:
We hope this article has helped you better understand online frauds and scams.
Remember, the best defense is knowledge when it comes to online shopping. The more informed you are about what kind of attacks might be used against you, the more likely it will be that one day your international brands online shopping experiences will be safe and secure.
To protect your personal data and accounts, it is important to use a unique password for each account. You should also use long passwords (with at least 10 characters) with a combination of letters and numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols.
We recommend using an encrypted password manager to avoid using the same or similar passwords across multiple sites and services. A good example of such software would be Dashlane or LastPass.
In addition to creating strong passwords for your online accounts, don’t share them with anyone! Ideally, you should create a new one every 3-6 months because hackers are always ahead of us when it comes to finding ways how they can crack those codes faster than we change them.