Avoid Online Shopping Fraud & Holiday Season Scams

The holiday season is synonymous with festivities, cheer, and mirth. It is also that "much-awaited fourth dimension of the year" when flashy discount signs lure shopaholics with their special festive promotions and offering: the starting time of the "Sale Catamenia". While yous tin can ever relieve money while shopping online, you lot have to be careful and stay away from scams.

Holiday Season Scams

While excited shoppers get busy grabbing the hottest deals and bargains, holiday season shopping scams also become rampant. Beware of these 'new age' online and mobile shopping frauds to protect your assets and identity and to bask carefree holidays.

As more than and more people now use Internet and mobile phones for faster and terminal-minute purchases, our criminal heroes too wish to brand some money when yous shop online, etc. These scams not simply rob naïve customers of their money but as well pose a threat of identity theft.

Here are some of the most discreetly manipulative shopping season scams that you should beware of.

Read: How to shop safely on AliExpress without being scammed.

Hottest Online Deals are not so Hot

With the number of online shoppers burgeoning during the holiday season, the figures of fake websites, counterfeit gift cards, phony contests, SMS and digital scams shoot up as well. Customers getting tricked into buying 'designer products at throwaway prices' or bagging amazing deals that turn out to be apocryphal products are mutual online shopping season scams. Entering social media contests to win a special vacation season gift hamper may land you in trouble likewise. It merely takes one click on your end to accept cyber criminals gain illegitimate admission to your personal and fiscal information and use it in an illegal manner.

Read: Mistakes to avoid in Online Dating.

Avoid Online Shopping Fraud & Scams

Shop responsibly. Transact on authentic e-commerce websites that are verified for customer safe and accept secure payment gateways linked to legitimate banks and service providers.

Mobile Shopping can be Malicious

Modernistic-mean solar day cyber criminals are always on the prowl for naïve customers who do not completely understand all the aspects of mobile shopping. They create genuine-looking mobile websites and send promotional advertisements that await legitimate. They besides add false celebrity endorsements and so as not to raise doubts. Such content, when accessed or downloaded on a smart phone, may intercept, alter and misuse all existing data, including contact information, banking company details, and passwords pertaining to your identity and assets.

Solution: Review mobile websites and applications before downloading them on your mobile or tablet and read user reviews before shopping in a sprint.

Online Donations: To a Charity or a Criminal

Being generous during the holiday season is noble, simply existence bullheaded to fake 'emotional blackmail' is unwise. Cyber criminals use authentic institution logos to create faux email campaigns and "move" you lot to make a donation through well-written and sensational pitches through dodgy online links. While you lot experience good about your 'kind act', they gulp down your hard-earned money.

Solution: If you feel like making an underprivileged smile, behave a thorough background research of the charity or foundation y'all wish to donate to. They always have legitimate contact information and then that you can get in bear on with them directly. Well-nigh importantly, never divulge your personal or depository financial institution details with whatsoever unknown entity.

Read: Precautions to accept before you click on any link.

Travel Scams that can take yous for a Ride

Travel deals and links received through social media sites or emails may hoodwink y'all into submitting your personal information. Visiting malicious websites may infect your computer with virus and malware and give scamsters the opportunity to hogtie you into making a fake purchase.

Solution: Before yous jump on a Euro Tour bundle offer for just $300, carry out a little research about the service provider'due south credentials and authenticity. Read customer reviews to check if the company or the offer is legitimate and do not forget to run an anti-virus browse on your computer after whatever such online action.

Read here nearly the almost common Online and Electronic mail scams & frauds.

Sending E-Greetings and Malware to your Loved Ones

Thanks to e-cards, you can convey flavour'south greetings to your family and friends located miles away from you in a quick and convenient manner. But, some of them may also deport malware and may lead your loved ones to download a malicious virus on their systems when they click to open a link or download an email attachment.

Solution: Choose reputed service providers. Look for misspelled names and words in the attachment links. If yous find any fallacies, just hit the 'Delete' button, pick upward the phone and give your family or friends a call. They would love it!

Don't let these vacation flavor shopping scams ruin your festive spirit. Conduct in mind the simple solutions to avoid online shopping scams and enjoy your holidays without being duped! Download this booklet from Microsoft. It talks about how to stay safe from online fraud.

This post on Credit Menu Skimming and Pin Theft Frauds may as well interest you.

Speaking of scams, some of these links are sure to interest you lot: