From a niche market to a primary method of shopping, online shopping has taken over the world. And you just cannot go back from this. From groceries, apparel, and electronics to food, we can get anything delivered to our doorstep within hours. In addition to saving fuel and time, you get millions of styles from various brands all at a click.
And what’s more, you get all your shopping delivered to your doorstep. You may ask, what are the risks of online shopping or if there are any. Sadly, this amazing boon comes with a curse. Some major risks online shoppers face are fraud sites, cyber attacks, and information hacking.
While online shopping has opened a world of convenience, it comes laced with risks. The risks of online shopping might cause some serious threats to your personal information.
Cybercrime is spreading fast with so much data on the internet about you, and cyber criminals make sure to work on this extravaganza. Online shopping portals that require personal information or bank details are a perceived risk online shopping customers face. However, knowing where the threat lies significantly reduces if you can avoid it.
Data Theft
One of the major online shopping risks is data theft. While doing a transaction, you need to update sensitive information like your credit card information, address, contact number, etc. All this information goes into the custody of hackers once the company’s security is breached. They can sell it and distribute it to illegal sources. The card details can be used for criminal activities that can put you at risk. Additionally, this can be used against you in any phishing scheme.
You can avoid data theft in multiple ways. Two-factor or multi-factor authentication, single e-signatures, opting for cash on deliveries and transaction signing can be used to prevent these. Especially if you are doing international shopping, make sure that the payment gateway is a trusted one.
Fake Online Reviews
Relying on online reviews is a fail-proof method for guessing how the product is. From apparel to electronic devices, reviews help a lot in choosing the product you want.
Furthermore, it encourages trust in the product or the brand via shared experience. With customer reviews becoming a pivotal part of online shopping, most reviews are often fake. This increases the risks for online shopping, if the brand is a local business or a site you haven’t heard of before, it might be fraudulent.
You can find exaggerated reviews on the products. It can be positive or negative. Some customers are very expressive in their language while leaving a review. However, competitor brands and bots write fake reviews to bring down the brand’s popularity. Check for repetitive phrases and grammatical errors. Also, check if the same account has left a negative review on other products. This more or less gives an idea about the account and if it is fake, and you can judge with an unbiased opinion.
Fake Shopping Apps
With the global culture predominant in the countries, we might fall in love with styles available outside our country. Some international shopping sites take advantage of this culture’s popularity and set up fake portals. The sites look authentic and even have a payment gateway. However, the site denies your access as soon as the money is deducted. Therefore, you must be careful and shop only from popular sites or trusted marketplaces. Even apps should be downloaded from official app marketplaces like Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
Online shopping is a spread-out business. Therefore, you can expect mobile apps and browser extensions. Installing these extensions gives way to identifiable personal information which is sensitive and can be used for malpractice. Even legitimate extensions have loopholes in their Terms and Conditions and cannot be fully trusted. Many international online shopping brands ask users for sensitive information and browser extensions. This is a major red flag and should be avoided.
Package Theft
Apart from online portals, the risk of fraud in online shopping comes from the delivery executives also. Petty theft of delivered items is much more common than we think. This mostly happens in residential areas. Most people who live around there are only home for part of the day. Thus, the delivery executives leave the packages at the doorstep. With the package left unattended, the delivery drivers or even petty neighbours steal them.
Avoiding this is actually easy. You can schedule the delivery to your office instead if you are unable to receive it. Unless it is something quite big and heavy. And if you want it delivered at home, you can ask them to take the recipient’s signature. Additionally, you can install doorbell cameras to see who stole your package. Though it might look a little petty, it will help you get your package back.
Payment Methods
The digital era has bought multiple online payment methods, and almost all of them are pretty secure. However, questionable payment gateways might lead to hackers gaining access to your personal information. You can avoid this by using trusted payment gateways like UPI or PayPal. Moreover, e-commerce sites have trust logos. Check for that to ensure they are an authentic brand. Don’t hesitate to report the page if they ask for any unnecessary information that rusted and established brands do not ask for.
Conclusion:
With these simple factors in mind, you can reduce the security risks of online shopping and have an enjoyable experience. Online shopping is advantageous, and utilizing it saves time, energy and money. Not only that, you stay updated with the latest trends in fashion and get amazing deals on your purchase. You pay less for the latest products than you would in a store.
However, keeping these simple tips in mind protects your information from malpractice. Data is a hazardous weapon and can be used against you in horrible ways. Furthermore, hacking into your bank account via card details can drain all your money. These quick and convenient pointers help you with your shopping experience.
