7 Best Tips To Have A Safe Online Shopping | Epysode
Our most privileged customer came up to us with their horrific online shopping experience. Facebook and Instagram are the most widely used social media platforms worldwide. The customer was surfing and scrolling down the newsfeed when he came across a sponsored ad for a shopping site. The tshirts online store being promoted had a list of products that came with incredibly light price tags. The products displayed looked appealing and of good quality. The ad then directed the customer onto a beautifully created e-commerce website.
Very much excited to have found these offers and such a nice site, the customer quickly went up and made a purchase of ₹12,500. He got himself some nice shoes, jerseys and more. The payment process was as good as that on any other app. With all the trust and excitement, the customer made the payment only to receive no update from the online shopping site.
This made him feel a little worried. He then went on the Contact Us page of the site to find out an invalid toll-free number and an invalid email address. He then realized that there had been no license number or any authentic proof of the company updated on the website. He clearly knew that he had been fooled.
How many of us are like this innocent customer? Each day, millions of men shirts online stores are launched and most of them could be fraudulent ones like this one. The frauding does not end here. Many online thieves try hacking the account to get the bank details and PIN. There are a lot of other ways to get fooled on the internet and end up losing money. If you do not wish to fall into such traps, here are the 7 best tips to safely shop online.
7 Pro Tips To Have A Safe Online Shopping
- Shop From Trusted Websites
Among a million websites that are out for you, choose to only shop from trusted ones. Always go and look for the registered details of the company or its license number on the site before you choose to shop from it.
- Share Not More Than Required Information
Share limited and useful personal information on the website. If a site asks you for your debit or credit card’s PIN, photos or anything that is out of context, go ahead and reconfirm if the site or platform is genuine. This will protect your private information and help you in shopping safely.
- Create Strong Passwords
Always choose to verify your phone number and keep your shopping account password protected. When you receive an OTP for verification, read through the page and ensure that the OTP has been sent only for verification purposes and not anything else.
- Check Account Statements Regularly
This is a hygienic practice that all must follow. Say you shop and pay a certain amount with your card or via UPI, go ahead and keep checking your statements once a day. There may be a few sites that can hack your account and withdraw money. Regularly checking such accounts will help in keeping your money safe.
- Inoculate Your Device
Always install anti-virus devices on your computer, laptop and phone. This can be a little expensive, but a lot more useful. Anti-virus scans your phone and warns you against fraudulent sites. It also protects your information from the hands of hackers and frauds.
- Do Not Shop In Public
Avoid shopping online in malls, moving buses, or anywhere that's got, strangers. Some people may notice you shopping online and may see your card number, pin, etc. They can go ahead and misuse it and if your luck is bad, you may get affected by this.
- Choose Phone Over Card For Payments
Wireless debit and credit cards are amazing, but it is recommended that you use your Phonepe or Google Pay scanners. There might be thieves who can pick up your card and use it for both online and offline shopping.
Shopping online is fun and quick but has its own set of cons. Make sure you follow all the safety measures to have a hassle-free shopping experience.