Cyber Monday: Make Your Purchases Safe While Online

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Here are some quick tips to stay safe while making your online purchases.

Look for a customer service phone number. If you don’t feel safe ordering online call and order.
When you are checking out and giving out sensitive information (credit card info, etc) make sure the address bar starts with “https” and not just “http”
Look for a clearly defined shipping and returns policy page.
DO NOT pay by check or money order. If the merchant is a fraud there is generally no recourse.
If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Be wary of any online merchant that only accepts one type of payment such as paypal only or only check or money order.
Look for seals such as BBB, Buy Safe, or Hacker Safe. These sites have been thoroughly verified.
Be wary (it’s still ok to order if you like) or online merchants who do not give a physical address for their store.
Research deals by going to sites such as google product search(formerly froogle).
If possible pay by credit card (not your checking account debit card). You will have more recourse should problems come up after the sale.

Remember to stay safe while online. The biggest thing is that if it seems too good of a deal to be true it probably is. Stay safe while shopping online!

Written on December 1st, 2008 Filed under Did you know?

Great tips! I once bought something online and didn’t check for contact information first. When I went to get a refund, I couldn’t find any way of contacting them. I’ll never make that mistake again.

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Comment by Gini — December 5, 2008 @ 6:36 am
That’s not good. I try to put all of my contact information on the e-commerce sites I run. I want people to feel at ease when they order.

Comment by Justin — December 5, 2008 @ 10:08 am
Hi Justin,

I wish you Yuletide Joy and A Blessed New Year together with your family.

Happy Holidays!

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Comment by Windmill — December 21, 2008 @ 10:32 pm
“I’ll never make that mistake again.”

Informative article and sad to note the comment. I have always advised online shoppers to keep contact details handy. Also store owners should display them in an easily accessible page.

Comment by John — December 28, 2008 @ 4:59 am
Hi, Justin! I was just stopping by and saw you haven’t posted in a while. Hope things are going well and that you and your family had a nice Christmas and New Year.

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Comment by Cindy — January 8, 2009 @ 4:23 pm
Yep all is well I’m doing most of my work over at http://www.greatwildoutdoors.com/ . I have a hard time keeping up with this blog I need to dedicate more time to it.

Comment by Justin — January 8, 2009 @ 4:28 pm
Hi thnaks for sharing this. I was not aware of a lot of these precautions regarding ordering online. I have been somewhat cavalier about it in the past, I’m afraid.

Haven’t been burned yet, but - like the first poster - I do like to be able to get the contact info to return something if necessary.

I would add that it is always a good idea to know what the return policy is and print it out before you order in case you can’t find it later.

Emily

Comment by Emily — November 16, 2009 @ 4:27 pm