Avoiding Scams and Fraud Online
Shopping on the net has become what would seem to be a national past-time, and has been marvelous for the consumer – it’s made it very straight-forward to buy things. And to add to that, the increase in competition incorporated with the cost-effectiveness with selling online has encouraged cheap selling prices for items.
All the same, as the shopping market has grown, so too has the necessity to be conscious of your consumer rights, and what you should do if you are in receipt of goods that don’t even turn up or faulty items. Information is available online, such as the consumer protection act 1987.
Another consideration is what payment provider to use to pay for something, as each payment provider has its own terms and conditions. . Doing your research can prevent you getting cheated by internet scams.
Our advice is to do your preparation regarding the vendor : do they display their postal address and phone number? What is the seller’s terms and conditions? Their returns policy? Their privacy policy? All these enquiries need to be answered prior to considering making a purchase from the vendor.
Another important point to consider: what are the methods of purchase? In 2009, it’s inadequate to simply look for “the padlock” (SSL certificate) – this won’t tell you how they keep your data, only how it’s transferred when you make your purchase. If in doubt, only buy from vendors who use 3rd party payment gateways such as PayPal, Google Checkout, WorldPay, SagePay and NoChex.You can also verify the reputation the seller has with his payment gateway, e.g. check his PayPal account and how many transactions have occurred on this individual account.
