Savvy businesses understand the value of a strong first impression, which is why they have polished, professionally designed websites. Scammers like payment methods that are quick, untraceable and difficult to dispute once you’ve handed over the cash. So if a website asks you to pay in something unusual, like bitcoin or a wire transfer, it’s probably an internet shopping fraud.īe leery of any company that asks you to pay in gift cards that don’t belong to their company - like iTunes or Amazon gift cards on a site that claims to sell designer shoes. Legitimate retailers use secure payment methods like credit cards, PayPal and gift cards specific to their brand. Keep an eye out for these signs that you’re on a fake shopping website. Since you can’t rely on antivirus or browser protections to alert you that you’ve stumbled upon a fraudulent site, you’ll instead have to perform your own website scammer check. While both are sketchy, the former can be a lot more damaging to your bank account and credit score.ĭetecting internet shopping frauds can be tricky. Others simply want to sell you counterfeit goods or goods that never arrive. Some scammers want to steal your financial information and personal data. The risks of making a purchase on a fake site depends on who set it up and why.
Internet shopping frauds have been around as long as the internet, but a report by the Federal Trade Commission shows they rose twofold between December 2019 and May 2020. Unfortunately, that exact threat is something that modern-day shoppers have to contend with. In terms of crime, shoppers may have been worried about muggers and swindlers, but one concern they probably did not have was that the entire store was fake. Once upon a time, the only way to get your shopping done was at a brick-and-mortar store.
0 kommentar(er)
