Online Shopping Scams – Buyer BEWARE

Consumers lost $770 Million to scams originating from social media in 2021 (Federal Trade Commission Jan.2021)

Wouldn't it be nice if you would get a big giant warning sign & maybe a siren???

Woman with credit card and laptop

Woman with credit card and laptop

Use these tips to help you identify and protect yourself from fraud:

Verify the Website:

• Do and online search of the Seller.  Use the Seller's name and the word "scam" to check them out before sending $ money $
• Only shop on secure websites with good reputations.  The address should start with https://  That "s" means it is a SECURE website.
• Scammers tend to use similar spellings to fool you into thinking you're in the right place.  So, check the spelling of the URL.  When typing, a lowercase "R" and an "N" looks like an "M"  (example: rn and m)  Look Closely - see the difference?

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Living room full of boxes

Trust Your Instincts

• Dad always said, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."  Is the price amazingly low?  I once saw a kayak for $99 - Yeah right - No Way!
• Look for typos and missing contact information.  Other red flags might be poor English, missing punctuation or misspelling.  Sometimes things such as "Terms and Conditions" might be missing.

Manage Risk

• Do NOT use public wi-fi when shopping online.  This seems like an easy one, but even hotels are offering free Wi-Fi when you stay with them.  It's better to use a hotspot with a password or skip it!

Better yet  ♥ SHOP LOCAL ♥ 

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3 ladies with shopping bags