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Modern business is actively developing on the internet, especially conducting online trade and sales from various internet platforms. You can purchase a product online in any country in the world, just load the necessary company's website and choose the product you like. Thanks to numerous delivery companies, this is not difficult to accomplish.
International Shopping
On online platforms selling various goods, fraudulent stores are also actively emerging. Scammers use various schemes and tricks that allow them to quickly deprive gullible users of their money. After the product is selected and payment needs to be made, it is important to be attentive when entering personal data, and not to engage with companies that offer to enter:
- your identification code;
- payment card number;
- mobile phone numbers.
If the company is honest and has been operating for a long time, entering additional data or sending copies of documents is not required.
Online Scam
To deceive users, many scammers fill fake online store websites with a large number of positive reviews, aiming at the fact that most buyers, reading reviews before purchasing a product, will react to the positive content. Most users should understand that not all reviews on the internet may be genuine, and when evaluating the plausibility of a review, attention should be paid to its content, amount of detail, and personal emotions.
Very often, scammers resort to the method of faking applications of well-known online stores, as most advanced brands certainly create mobile apps for user convenience. Therefore, scammers try to imitate them by creating fake versions. The main task of this imitation:
- obtaining personal information about users;
- their bank cards;
- details;
- access passwords;
- credit card data.
One should not forget about phishing, which is the most common method of luring users to fake sites. Scammers create clone sites of real online stores and send out fake ads or emails with links to them. Opening such a link can easily infect an electronic device with malware that can transmit data to scammers' devices.
Scammers on Platforms
Operating in the vastness of the internet, scammers can easily access online store websites and steal users' identification data, while their account data and internet store participants' credit card data may end up in their hands. In this way, they can, posing as buyers, make purchases using stolen user data or even sell this personal data, for example, on the dark web.
When making a purchase online, the user provides confidential information, which includes:
- banking details;
- contact information;
- credit card information;
- even residential address.
Often, intruders hunt for such information by hacking online store websites. In this case, data leakage occurs and there is a risk of theft of confidential information.
Scammers also use ad programs that appear on device screens while using the internet, mainly responding to queries in internet resources. With such ads, scammers can redirect users to fake websites where they need to disclose their personal data, and one should be cautious with such ads.
Purchase Protection
When making online purchases, it is necessary to adhere to certain safety rules:
- Verify the authenticity of the online store. It should be understood that criminals have learned to create fake online stores that completely copy well-known brands, with the only difference being in the URL of the electronic line. If there is no lock icon in the electronic address, then this site is not secure and it can be fraudulent.
- When placing an order, it's better to use home internet or your own — mobile. Avoid public wi-fi in public places, where scammers can intercept information about personal data, passwords, card numbers.
- It is recommended to make online purchases using a separate card and set a specific limit on it for online shopping. Such cards are not linked to a savings or salary account, which helps preserve the integrity of the funds.
One should study reviews about the store and sellers; if there are many negative reviews about a seller, one should think about whether it is necessary to make purchases from this seller.
It is necessary to choose the appropriate type of payment. Verified stores offer various payment methods. The best options would be cash on delivery or payment upon delivery. If only online payment is required, the buyer is sure to receive payment confirmation, an electronic receipt, and order confirmation via email. All receipts received via email should be saved.