More and more people now prefer to do their shopping online rather than going to the malls and other commercial areas. Online shopping offers convenience, more choices, and lower prices. One can just simply buy an item across the globe through online shopping. However, not all online shops and businesses are considered as legitimate. Some so-called online shops and businesses are fraudulent websites. These sites are meant to deceive you into giving your personal and credit card details and steal money from you, so you must be extra cautious when shopping online.
So how can you tell a legitimate online shop from a fraudulent one? Here are some tips to help you identify if a certain online business is legitimate.
1. Do your research.
Going through the website and reading how the site was constructed can help you determine if the business is legitimate. A genuine business has a good website where their customers can know them better. It should have their contact details which include their business address, email address and telephone number. Before making a purchase, call them and ask more about their products.
2. Read reviews and ratings.
When you are on a website such as Ebay, they have features where customers can give reviews and feedbacks to the sellers. Choose sellers that have high positive ratings. You can check out the reviews made by the seller’s previous customers. These reviews are not only about the products being sold, but also about the way the seller does business. Also, sellers that have been members for quite some time on the site mean that they are reliable.
3. Use a reliable and traceable mode of payment.
When a seller asks you to send him money, then most likely this is a scam. Most online sellers require that you pay them through credit card or PayPal. Payments done through these platforms can be cancelled in the events that you are being scammed.
4. Unrealistic prices.
Unrealistic prices are a good indicator if the items are sold at very low or high prices. Low prices are used to catch your attention. To avoid falling into these schemes, make sure that you know how much is the value of the item you intend to purchase.
5. Check if they are in a government monitoring web site.
See if you can find details of the online shop on a government monitoring web site. Web sites such as the Better Business Bureau and Ripoff have databases of legitimate online shops. You can find the reviews and ratings of various internet businesses. Ripoff uses a scale of 1 to 10; only make transactions with online shops having ratings of 6 and higher.
6. Have a physical shop.
If the business has a concrete, physical shop, then that is a legitimate seller. If you plan to be a regular customer and if you have time, pay their shop a visit and know more about the company.
There are so many fraudulent websites whose aim is to steal from you. In making online transactions, it is always better to be cautious than being sorry.
