Internet technology has ushered in a slew of changes that have impacted both individual lives and society as a whole.
Payment gateways are used to purchase travel tickets, order food, shop for groceries and commodities, and conduct financial transactions, among other things.
Be Alert
According to The Nilson Report, more than 370 billion purchase transactions were made on average globally in 2018, with billions of dollars wasted owing to online fraud and scams.
This alarming trend has raised serious concerns about the safety and security of internet transactions around the world.
Many businesses and financial institutions are constantly improving their systems and processes to counteract the attempts of scammers and fraudsters and protect online shoppers’ interests while maintaining their trust.
However, it would be extremely beneficial if online customers learned to protect themselves while doing online shopping by being cautious and responsible.
Let us provide some helpful tips and procedures for purchasing online in the future to avoid being a victim of online scams.
Ask questions
One of the most common tricks online scamsters use is to give a sweet deal that is too good to be true to get your attention and trap you to share your personal information, bank details, etc. For e.g., A brand new electric cycle for $ 25, or you have won a lottery of $1 million, or a unique product that is not available online easily at a throwaway price.
Before you fall for this, do your research using comparison sites like the top 10 best to check product reviews and site/ brand reviews to verify the veracity of these tall claims before initiating any communication with the vendors or sellers.
If other customers have fallen for online traps, it is likely someone wrote a review online about their experience.
Never use the same password
You can be sure that if one of your accounts is compromised by a scammer, they won’t have access to all of your other accounts if you use different passwords for each one.
So, if you choose to keep the same password for all the accounts, it makes the task of hackers very easy to have access to all of them in one go.
To ensure that your information is safe, it is highly recommended that you take the time to create unique passwords for each account. The more difficult it is for online fraudsters to crack any of them, the better.
Check the website
There have been many incidents of fake websites created by online fraudsters that are the exact replica of the original portal to create confusion and lead to data theft.
In this case, do read the URL of the website to look for spelling errors to check the authenticity of the same and save yourself from getting duped.
No exchange of information on phone or email
Scammers posing as bank executives in which you have an account or claim to call from the customer service department of a payment getaway portal that you use for online transactions or an authorized financial institution, such as the Revenue Department or the Central Bank, should be avoided.
Furthermore, you may be enticed to share the OTP you receive on your phone while on the phone with an online scammer to receive a rebate or other reward.
Just make sure that these are familiar ways to defraud online buyers of their hard-earned cash.
Reminders for shoppers
As a proactive shopper, follow these additional guidelines.
- Use updated firewalls and anti-virus software
- Don’t shop on public computers
- Check Your Credit Card Statements
