Practising Safe Online Shopping Video Series

Tips about Safe Online Shopping

To Prevent is the best way to protect

a. Signs of possible online shopping scam / Scam methods

                                                              i.    A product is marked at a very low price.

                                                            ii.    The seller and any initial bidders have a very poor rating on an auction site.

                                                          iii.    The seller wishes to complete the transaction on grounds outside the website.

                                                           iv.    The seller requests for immediate payment, or payment by electronic funds transfer or a wire service.

                                                             v.    Inadequate or no information about privacy, terms and conditions of use, dispute resolution or contact details are found on the website.

b.      Prevention

                                                              i.    Read all the terms and conditions of any offer very carefully: claims of free or very cheap offers often have hidden costs.

                                                            ii.    Make sure that cheques have been cleared by your bank before transferring or wiring any refunds or overpayments back to the sender.

                                                          iii.    Do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails. Delete them.

                                                           iv.    Never enter your personal, credit card or online account information on a website that you are not certain is authentic.

                                                             v.    Never send your personal, credit card or online account details via email.

c. Do your Homework

                                                              i.    Find out exactly who you are making the transaction with.

                                                            ii.    Confirm the full price of the product, including any delivery charges.

                                                          iii.    Ask yourself if the claims made about the product are reasonable. If unsure, make sure to compare the conditions with other websites.

                                                           iv.    Be suspicious of online shopping websites that do not provide their full contact details (E.g. physical or street address as well as phone and fax numbers).

                                                             v.    Be very cautious about paying by credit card and make sure the website used for payments is secure. Look for an unbroken key or lock at the bottom of the browser window, or a web address beginning with ‘https//:’

                                                           vi.    Check for a refund or returns policy in the website and whether it sounds fair if there is one. Better online shopping and auction sites have detailed complaint or dispute handling processes in place in case something goes wrong.

                                                         vii.    If the site uses a feedback rating system, check all the comments about the seller you are considering buying from.

d.      Decision

                                                              i.    If you have any doubts about the product in question, or the person selling it, it is best not to go ahead with the deal. Online shopping and auction scams can cost you money and time in trying to sort out the mess.

                                                            ii.    If the offer looks genuine, and the online store or auction service is trustworthy, then you can go ahead with the purchase.

                                                          iii.    You may want to use an ‘escrow’ service if you are buying something at auction. This is a service that collects the payment from you, and only releases it to the trader or seller when you have confirmed that the product has arrived and is what was paid for. There is usually a small fee for this service. Only use a reputable escrow service (online auction sites may provide a list of recommended providers).

e.      Other factors that you may consider:

                                                              i.    Domain name renewal scams : Scams that send you a fake renewal notice for your actual domain name or a misleading invoice for a domain name that is very similar to your own.

                                                            ii.    Spam (junk mail) offers : Spam emails, SMS or MMS usually offer free goods or ‘prizes’, very cheap products or promises of wealth. Responding to spam messages can result in problems for your computer and your bank account.

                                                          iii.    'Free' offers on the internet : Offers of ‘free’ website access, downloads, holidays, shares or product trials – but you have to supply your credit card or other personal details.

                                                           iv.    Spyware & key-loggers : Spyware is a type of software that spies on what you do on your computer. Key-loggers record what keys you press on your keyboard. Scammers can use them to steal your online banking passwords or other personal information.

                                                             v.    Cheque overpayment scams : You are sent a cheque for something you have sold, but it is for more than the amount agreed. The scammer hopes you will refund the extra money before you notice that their cheque has bounced.

                                                           vi.    Up-front payment scams : You are asked to send money upfront for a product or ‘reward’. You will end up with something much less than you expected, or nothing at all.

                                                         vii.    Credit card scams : There are many types of scams that aim to steal your credit card details, either by taking the card itself or by tricking you into giving them the card’s details.

                                                       viii.    Requests for your account information ('phishing' scams) : Phishing emails are fake emails usually pretending to be from banks or other financial institutions. They make up some reason for you to give your account details and then use these details to steal your money.

General info on online shopping

    Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time, without an intermediary service, over the Internet. It is a form of electronic commerce. An online shop, eshop, e-store, internet shop, webshop, webstore, online store, or virtual store evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-mortar retailer or in a shopping centre. The process is called Business-to-Consumer (B2C) online shopping. When a business buys from another business it is called Business-to-Business (B2B) online shopping.
     In 1990 Tim Berners-Lee created the first World Wide Web server and browser. It opened for commercial use in 1991. In 1994 other advances took place, such as online banking and the opening of an online pizza shop by Pizza Hut. During that same year, Netscape introduced SSL encryption of data transferred online, which has become essential for secure online shopping. Also in 1994 the German company Intershop introduced its first online shopping system. In 1995 Amazon launched its online shopping site, and in 1996 eBay appeared.

The Very First Post

We, the TJC PW S.O.S. Team, brought this blog to live on the sunny afternoon of 6th July 2011.
Our project is focused on the topic of online-shopping, and we aim to equip people with essential  knowledge regarding online-shopping as well as enhance their awareness so as to help prevent people from falling prey to scams when shopping online.