Scamming is not a new concept to the world and every other day it is taking new forms. And, today, we are going to talk about one such scam that is skyrocketing these days. As you can guess from the title, this post is here to make you understand a little more about some common e-com scams that you can easily all prey to if you are a frequent online shopper.
This post is divided into different segments so that you can easily have a glimpse of the aspects related to this scam and make sure that you do not fall prey to any such scam. At the same time, you should not keep these details with only you but also share them with your loved ones so that they can effectively fight against these scams.
However, before we jump into this, it is important to acknowledge that this kind of scam does not only take place with a buyer but may also take place with a seller as well. Wondering how? Let’s read further and find out how it may affect us.
Table of Contents
What is an e-commerce scam?
In simple terms, an e-commerce scam is deployed in order to get hands-on your money or get details of your credit cards. Apart from this, there are some shopping websites that claim to be genuine but actually, they are fake sites. For example, a person orders anything from such a fake website without knowing that the item would never appear or if it ever appears, it is completely opposite of what you purchased. These websites also do not have the option to return the product or they also do not allow customers to buy products on “Cash on delivery.” Well, there are some other instances of e-commerce scams that you need to be aware of.
Know Also >> Tips & Tricks To Secure Your Identity From Xloader Malware
The different kinds
- In the first instance, we are going to have a look at one of the major card-related scams that take place on e-commerce websites. First of all, the scammer who has illegal access to credit card details of people use these details to make purchases on the online shopping portals. If their first attempt gets successful, they immediately make bigger purchases leaving your bank account empty.
- Another example of an e-commerce scam is when the buyer makes false claims that he did not receive the ordered item(s) but he actually got them delivered. So, he asks for the refund and he then is provided with the amount that he claims.
- Taking a look at another instance, sometimes, when a delivery man delivers an item but forgets to update in his system, the buyer may cancel the item and say that it was never delivered to them.
- Since we are not here to talk about scams where you undergo financial losses, your account on these websites may also get compromised. When a scammer gains access to your account, he may collect some additional information about you such as your addresses, contact details, or make purchases on your behalf.
Ways to avoid these scams
- Using antivirus solutions that could detect fake websites
Well, the antivirus giant, McAfee has developed security solutions that have the ability to detect fake websites. The moment you try to navigate to these websites, it tells you that it is highly unsafe to visit these sites. To get one such product for yourself, you can navigate to mcafee.com/activate and make sure that you get an antivirus subscription for steering clear of e-commerce scams.
- Read reviews
A genuine e-commerce platform always tries to list genuine reviews for the products it sells. Also, you can check out the reviews of the complete website by searching for it on Google or through any other search engine. A reputed platform always uses strict security measures and makes sure that its customers’ details are safe. No matter the reviews are positive or negative, they are always going to add to the reliability factor of the shopping portal.
- Sellers need to make necessary arrangements
Being a seller, if you want to avoid chargebacks, you need to make necessary arrangements so that no customers can claim you for a refund falsely. For this, you can make sure that the delivery-related updates are being done on time.
Know Also >> Know Online Gaming Tips To Stay Protected From Cyber Frauds
- Be more alert during the sale
In addition to the practices mentioned above, you should also try to make sure that you do not fall into scams that especially take place during the holiday season when huge sales are going on. If you give in to these lucrative scams, then you may have to undergo huge losses.
- Be alert while using your reward points
If you have some reward points which you think you need to redeem, then make sure that you are redirecting to those portals only through the website where you have earned them.
Conclusion
E-commerce is such a waste thing to discuss. Hence, we were not able to cover all the essential things here. Therefore, you are also suggested to stay vigilant about these scams and learn from the mistakes created by others. Being a buyer, you should not make any chargebacks to the seller because then there would be no difference between you and a scammer.