Avoid Holiday Internet Shopping Scams
So the holidays are in full swing, and despite the shaky economy, we still have to buy the kiddies presents. Those innocent little souls just don’t understand the price of gas, that a few of your friends are in foreclosure, and that half of your 401K is gone. Besides you don’t want to see little tear rolling down those shiny faces! More and more these holidays, people are saving time and money, doing thier holiday shopping on the worldwide web. Here’s some tips on how to not get taken by internet scammers . . . . .
- Be very careful about buying something that you learn about by bulk email or spam. Your chances of receiving the item, drops dramatically, and there is a higher probability of being misrepresented. Even if the sellers’ intentions are honorable, a bulk mailing often overwhelms them, and you might not get your stuff until the after Christmas!
- Always use a credit card to purchase online. This protects you. Your maximum exposure is $50, and often you won’t even lose that amount if you get scammed. Using a debit card is NOT give you the same protection as a credit card. Never use your debit card online.
- Only buy from reputable sites. I love this free site: http://www.resellerratings.com It is a place where plain people rate their experiences with online merchants. This has saved my butt many times when I was going for the lowest price on an expensive item. It turned out that they really didn’t have it stock, and tried to do a “bait and switch”, just like the reviewers said!!
- Never send your payment to a post office box.
- Be very cautious if the seller uses a free email service, such as Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, etc. There is no accountablilty or identity checkfor these accounts. If you are going send money by paypal, make sure the actual domain name is in the email address. For instance: johnsmith@smartlifestore.com or sales@protectiontalk.com
- Save a copy of all of the emails and other documents involved in the transaction.
Happy Holidays from ProtectionTalk.com
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This stuff seems to get more common and common. Thanks for your post and great tips!
Paypal protects the buyers pretty good from my experience. The things you want to avoid are basically anything offers you get via email that you have not previously signed up for. Even then you still want to be careful. Your best bet is sticking to big name sites and constantly check your credit/debit card for charges.