The trend of online shopping has increased considerably and people have shopped for essential things through online rather than outside. But it is very important to keep some things in mind while shopping online
Nowadays most of the people prefer to buy from online shopping site, from clothes to TV, because it saves them time and they get more deals than the common offline store.
But sometimes people fall victim to fraud during online shopping. In such a situation, if you are going to do online shopping, then it is important to know what things you should take care of before shopping online.
According to a survey conducted in the year 2018, more than one-third of fake products are being sold from the websites of many e-commerce companies. In such a situation, if you are going to shop online, then some things should be taken care of. This will prevent you from being a victim of fraud.
Let’s know about these important things which is to be kept in mind while doing online shopping …
1. Shop Through Official Website or App
Now a days, if anyone wants to buy anything, then there are a lot of options available to them. Also there are a lot of e-commerce stores which sells branded items in their website.
But there are many cases happened where people received fake and duplicate products when purchased through these e-commerce stores and websites. These fake products looks exactly similar to the original one and can be identified only when someone verifies it closely.
So it is always better to buy costly products by visiting the official site or app of that product. By doing this, you will get the 100% original product and your bank account information will also not be leaked.
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2. Cash on Delivery is the Safest Way
To avoid online fraud, you can use COD i.e. cash on delivery option if possible. In this case, the goods reach you first and then you have to pay.
Many e-commerce website do not provide cash on delivery option in many areas. Cash on delivery and net banking are the safest ways to transact online.
However, if these options are not available, go for a virtual credit card. It is an add-on ‘card’ issued on your primary credit card. All relevant details are available only online. It has a validity of a few months and you can set a credit limit as per your choice.
3. Don’t Save Card Information in Shopping Site
Most people save their credit and debit card information on the shopping site to save time while making another transaction. Because whenever anyone does any online transaction, then they have enter their card details again and again. To get rid of this repetition, people save their card info on the website itself.
Now here they mistake, because there is always a chance of getting your card details leaked. This is because in this world of technology and internet any online platform can be hacked and its data can be compromised.
So while making online payment, before removing the option of save card details, remove the tick from the check box and make it NO. Pay only after this. This will keep your bank account completely safe.
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4. Stay Away From Fake Website
Nowadays hackers are targeting people by creating fake websites or mobile apps. In such a situation, get complete information about the website/app before shopping on any site or app. By doing this you can avoid online fraud.
Most of the online frauds takes place from the fake websites. Most often people get high discounts and exclusive deals on websites like Flipkart or Amazon from WhatsApp or any other messaging app and a link is given with this exclusive offer, which can be a fake link. So, if you click on those links then there is a great chance that you may fall in scam.
In such a situation, before doing shopping online with the given link, you must check the website to be fake or real. And it is sure that if the website link is fake, then the product will definitely be fake.
So now the question arises how can we know that the website link is fake or real.
Here is the solution.
First of all you have to check the given link URL carefully. The real and original website URL will start from“https” and not from “http”. If the link doesn’t contain “https”, then the website is not secure for any kind of transaction.
In such a situation, always buy product from the website whose link address starts with https.
5. Identify Manufacturing & Branding
Counterfeit goods can be identified with the company’s logo and spelling. Companies selling counterfeit/fake products make logo exactly similar. But this logo will be different from the original brand logo in many aspects.
Also the official producer of the product embed hologram in their products which cannot be copied by the fake company.
Thus while buying products online, you should always look at the logo of the brand carefully.
Also, the spelling of letters, font style, letter design etc. of the product should also be investigated properly.
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6. Check The Product Review
If you are buying any product which you haven’t used earlier, then before purchasing read the product review provided by the customers who have already purchased that goods.
Product Review is the most important factor that you should consider because it gives you a brief idea about the performance and durability of the product. Through this you can understand how the product preforms in a specific duration of time.
7. High Discounted Product Can Be Fake
Now a days there is a trend going on to sell the product, i.e., to put high discount on the product. So many people lured by this high discount because they thought that the company is providing these discount due to sale season or offers.
But no company can offer discount as high as 60-80%. Because that 60-80 percent discount is not available on branded items, luxury products compared to MRP.
In such a situation, if seller is providing more than 60 to 70 percent discount on MRP, then understand that the item might be fake or duplicate.
So these are some of the methods through which you can identify original and fake product while shopping online and can stay safe from being the victim of online fraud.
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Thanks for Reading!