4 tips to avoid holiday online shopping scams

Spendings
Financial tips
Online shopping
Online scams
Cyber security

Author: Mrs Chin30/11/2021

As the holiday season approaches, many of us may turn to online shopping to indulge ourselves or to look for gifts for our friends and family. You may find yourself receiving all sorts of promotional messages and solicitation about all kinds of holiday shopping deals. With the convenience of online shopping, do bear in mind that scammers often prey on unwary online shoppers. Here are four tips to avoid falling victim to online shopping scams.

1. Shop on official websites

It is best to shop on official websites and transact with reputable sellers. Watch out for signs of suspicious online stores, such as those with a relatively short history, like newly-established online sellers, retailers without a physical presence or office number, and those with only a few posts on their official pages.

2. Check seller's identity

With online shopping, as you cannot inspect the actual item, you can only rely on the photos provided. Bear in mind that the photos can easily be edited and as such, what you see may not be what you get. As far as possible, try to transact in person. If you are required to pay in advance, be cautious about making any advance payments, and do a background check using the seller's phone number, social media account, bank account number or page name, and look out for any negative reviews to avoid falling victim to scams.

3. Pay attention to website and mobile app security

Don’t click on any links in emails or pop-up windows that require you to log in to your online shopping account. Avoid downloading any unknown mobile apps when using a shopping app. Shopping websites may suggest saving your payment information for future purchases, but this can be risky. It is always a good idea to log out of the website immediately after the transaction.

4. Verify every transaction

Keep track of your online spending and cross-check it against the transaction records of your bank account to spot any irregularities as early as possible. You can instruct your credit card issuer to send you text messages to notify you of any online transactions or when a transaction exceeds your preset limit. That way you can take action and notify your bank immediately of any dubious transactions.

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