Things You Should Never Do When Shopping Online

Do you like online shopping? It is something that people prefer nowadays to going to a store physically and purchasing something. Why? It’s more convenient, and you are met with more options. But did you know that there are several scams when it comes to online shopping?

According to ResearchGate “In 2020, online shopping scams made up 38 percent of all reported scams globally, a significant increase from 24 percent before the pandemic (Statista, 2022)” And it has gone up even higher in the present time. 

In today’s article, I’ll tell you about things you should never do when shopping online. So, if you are someone who only does online shopping like me, you need to know about these dos and don’ts. 

Buy from Third-Party Retailers

If you can, buy directly from manufacturers. Whether that’s the expertly crafted wallets sold by Bullsheath Leather or products made by another manufacturer. If you are making a direct purchase from the manufacturer from their sites, you won’t have to pay any premium charges and worry about getting scammed. 

Buying online is without a shadow of a doubt the best way to save yourself the hassle, too. Purchasing something from the manufacturers means you won’t have to wait for items to be back in stock. This is because they are a lot more proactive when it comes to marketing, as they label everything as either being sold or unavailable. 

Avoid Public Wi-Fi Networks

If you are shopping on the Internet, you need to make an active effort to avoid public Wi-Fi networks. Public Wi-Fi networks are easy to hijack and often become victims of crime. They use them to gather people’s personal information or gain access to their advice.

The only time you should consider shopping while connected to a public Wi-Fi network is if you have a VPN activated. Virtual Private Network will mask your real IP address with its own, making it hard for hackers to gain access to your internet traffic, and they won’t be able to monitor or track your activities. 

Use Weak Passwords

Passwords play a crucial role in our lives whether it’s your device password, any app, or your banking password they need to be stronger. Making something like 123456 or keeping your birthdate as your security makes it easier to guess and anyone could gain access to your system or accounts. 

Since weak passwords are no longer safe, you should get help from apps that can generate strong passwords for you. Google itself offers this as you are creating a password on any web page it asks you whether you want it to be created for you, and it automatically gets saved in your account so you want to have to remember them. 

Skip Comparison Sites

Comparison sites can help you save a lot of money if you can make good use of them. It will make you a skillful internet shopper.  Comparison sites will show you all the websites selling the products you are after, which can give you a better idea of which retailer has the lowest prices.

They are usually free to use and if you are lucky you might find discount codes here. 

Always look for discount codes when you are shopping online, I mean, who won’t like them? Most retailers have discount codes of some kind available, so make use of them when you can. 

Consider Pay-in-Three

Paying in three or buying now pay later might look like a great option, but it’s not. Why? People, especially youngsters, get tempted and buy things they can’t afford and end up in debt. If you don’t have a stable income, you should never opt for this service.

This is because they give the illusion that they are saving money when in reality, they are not. Pay-in-three services have become the norm online, so avoid them. Until and unless you are in a good position where you can afford such things only then avail such schemes, or you are in for great trouble. 

Save Payment Details

Repeat after me that you never save your payment details. Again never. If you did so on any unfamiliar site, then you give away your whole account along with all the money in it. They wouldn’t need your permission to make any purchase, either. 

When you save payment details on unfamiliar sites, there is always a chance you could get hacked by the owners of the site, too. Yes, I understand that it’s time-consuming and can be frustrating, but it’s better than losing thousands of dollars, right? So add details manually every time you buy something and don’t save the information.

Order From Low-Quality Sites

Try to avoid ordering products from low-quality websites unless you are sure the retailer can be trusted. Even though low-quality sites no longer exist, there’s a chance you might come across one. 

It’s on you if you didn’t make sure whether the site was genuine or not by checking its reviews (explained in the next section). Try to ensure that in addition to being well-designed, the sites you use have testimonials from customers posted on them. 

Here are some of the online shopping scam statistics that you need to know about.

Skip Reading Reviews

Reviews are the best way to find out whether any site is genuine or not. Wondering how? Just look below: 

• Publicly Available: They are available for everyone to see on platforms such as Google Review or Trustpilot. 
• Easy to identify Fake Reviews: Even without any experience, you can tell whether any review is fake or not by its tone and spam.
• Trustworthy: Reviews are a great way for you to trust a site based on the experience of previous consumers. 

If they are all written in the same style or seem to have been created by some kind of AI tool or chatbot, then you should make an effort to avoid using that particular site. 

DID YOU KNOW
Many platforms try to look like some well-known websites. You need to be cautious and check several things like any contact details, customer details, misspellings in URLs, etc., To avoid getting scammed!

Click Suspicious Ads

Last but not the least, clicking on suspicious ads. As you are on any shopping site you might see pop-up ads or something like that, you should avoid clicking on them at all costs. Because if you did, you might be giving direct access to hackers and they can insert viruses. 

When people click them, the viruses are immediately downloaded and installed on their devices. See, it just takes one’s click, so if you are unfamiliar with something then you shouldn’t even pay any attention to it. Because if you are hijacked, all your sensitive and personal information will get stolen, no doubt. 

Always keep the best antivirus on your devices so that it scans all your emails before you open them and gets rid of any potential threat that could harm your setup. Being safe on the internet is not an easy task as scammers keep on coming up with new tactics, but by considering the above points and being smart you can avoid being a victim.