Avoid Being A Victim of Internet Fraud
There are several steps you can take to ensure a safe shopping experience on the internet. First off, Ebay is one of the greatest sites ever made. It would be a shame for people to avoid Ebay out of fear of being scammed. Let’s take a look at some easy tips to keep you safe on the internet
Tip #1 Only purchase items from reputable sites. If you see a website with a format similar to this example www.example.com/index/asggor/bb/bdd/444994 avoid it. Try to limit your buying to top level domain names. These sites have a word and a dot com possibly with a phrase after the dot com. Tip #2 If you are buying an item from an online auction or classified site, make sure you are buying from a reputable seller. With Ebay there will be a number beside the seller’s name. The number represents the number of transactions the seller has been involved in. You can click that number and it will give you a %. This percentage represents how reputable a seller is. I only buy items from sellers who have at least 50 transactions and a rating of 92% or higher. This ensures a safe transaction
Tip #3 Understand payment options. Paypal is by far the safest form of online money transactions. If the seller doesn’t deliver the goods as promised you can open a dispute with paypal against the seller. This freezes the money in the seller’s account. They will not be able to withdraw funds until the dispute is satisfied.
Paying with Credit Card is acceptable as well. One thing you want to look for when entering credit card information is “https://” If you look at your address bar up top you notice it says “http://”then the address. That means this site is not secure. Don’t freak out! The only sites that need to be secure are sites where you enter information. Make sure the site you are entering financial information into starts with “https://”
Never ever for any reason pay via western union. Do not do it! Trust me. If you pay for goods over the internet with western union there is a 90% chance you will get scammed! I really cant stress this enough. Never Never Never pay for goods online via western union If you find an item you like on Ebay and the seller doesn’t take paypal, search for a seller that does take paypal. This is the safest bet in online shopping.
Tip #4 If it seems to good to be true… it is! Trust your instincts. Sometimes you find really good deals but something tells you to stay away. It is hard to do. I know I have been there. If you are looking at a TV that retails for $3000 and you find one for $250 chances are it is a scam. I hope this article has helped you in your online purchases. Please do not be afraid of buying goods online. The competition has driven the prices down to record lows. You can get some great deals compared to your local brick and mortar stores.
