It would be entirely fair to say that online shopping has completely revolutionized the process of purchasing and selling products in the 21st century. Imagine the medieval age when people had to travel on foot for days to ironically buy a pair of slippers or shoes. The present method of digitalized marketing platform allows us to achieve the equivalent result and beyond just by sitting at the comfort of your home.
In addition to that, online shops are popularly known for their jaw-dropping deals and offer they give out almost throughout the shopping calendar. However, all those conveniences and discounts come at a cost. The headlines read of all the mischievous shenanigans that people face virtually every day while shopping online. This further fuels the skeptical nature of shopping on e-commerce sites that most people have already grown to develop.
There are, however, ample of precautionary steps you can undertake to steer clear of any form of online scams and shop around with a convincing feeling of safety and security as well.
Here are some of the things to steer clear of to avoid falling prey to any type of notorious online shopping scams and hustles.
- If it’s too good to be true, maybe it is!
Apart from some legitimate websites such as https://www.dfydaily.com that offers incredibly cheap deals on some of the best and unique gadgets, there are a countless number of fraud websites that promises mindboggling deals in an attempt to extract your personal information. Most online shoppers newbie fall prey to such cheap deals and end up providing a piece of information too many, ultimately compromising their bank account information.
It is important to note that genuine e-commerce websites such as Amazon, eBay, and Walmart have to comply with the standard market price regulation, and hence, cannot offer crazy discounts to the tune of up to 80% or 90%. Thus, if you come across a website that claims to offer extraordinary discounts that seem too good to be true, it is probably wise to steer clear of it.
- Learn to identify the wrong URL associated with the specific website
In case you did not know, URL stands for Universal Resource Locator, and it is one of the critical components of a website. Since there are thousands of different acronyms on the web, it is almost impossible to keep track of every single one of them and learn their basic functionalities. However, one of the most basic and most straightforward URL tricks that can help you identify the genuine nature of a website is to observe if it is preceded by HTTPS or HTTP. The “S” on the tail end indicates that the website is safe to browse and also your information stays protected, thanks to the implementation of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protection.
This simply means any information transferred or shared on such websites is encrypted to protect the authentic information of the user. However, the same cannot be said for an HTTP website. Any online shopping sites preceded by an HTTP URL should, therefore, be avoided.
- Be extra careful when shopping on a mobile platform
The market of online shopping is gradually transferring its primary focus to the mobile platform, mainly due to the growing relevance of smartphones and also the amount of convenience they offer as opposed to the bulky nature of PC’s/laptops. However, shopping online on your smart device comes with some prevalent drawbacks.
Since most smartphones are not equipped with genuine anti-virus software, it becomes easier for third-party apps to spread malware and extract your personal information. In addition to that, the limited screen size on smartphones makes it harder for you to view the proper URL of a website. Thus, increasing the risk factor of visiting an unsecured website.
- Do not use public Wi-Fi network for making transactions on online shops
This is more of a general precaution, rather than an online shopping specific safety tip. Public Wi-Fi networks are probably the most unsafe and unsecured medium of connecting to the web, as the data you provide on such networks are un-encrypted. This simply means your information floats around the internet unprotected, making them extremely prone and vulnerable against the attacks of professional hackers.
It is, therefore, highly recommended to never use public Wi-Fi to shop around on the internet, and even if you do, you should be extremely careful not to use your bank details for any purchase.
- Change your password regularly
Google does not just recommend you to change your password at regular interval for nothing. Altering your account password on a timely routine plays a massive role in protecting your personal detail information. However, the majority of people never update their account password simply due to the inconvenience of having to remember a new password every time.
Changing your password is equivalent to creating a new fresh account with enhanced security protection, making it harder for hackers to extract your personal information while shopping online.
