6 Tips of Shopping Securely Online: Easier Said Than Done: Guest Blogger Debbie Mahler

Shopping Securely Online: Easier Said Than Done

by Debbie Mahler

*While Debbie wrote this piece during the Christmas holiday season, it is still important to remember these important tips throughout the year, especially with the start of the New Year and everyone trying to sell their wares because you need their products to be more productive in your business or to lose weight etc. Not to take a jab at those of us who sell legitimate products and services online.

I am the Facebook friend that Debbie is referring to. I consider myself to be one of the most cautious folks when buying anything online–if it can happen to me it can happen to you too!

Fortunately, it all worked out for me after going back and forth with the alleged vendor for giving me the wrong product and one I couldn’t use. I did get a refund and new debit card free of charge from my bank.

However, a lot of times buyers aren’t always as fortunate.

So if you don’t want this nightmare to happen to you anytime….I highly recommend you reading Debbie’s article. Please leave any comments for me or Deb and we will be happy to answer your questions in the box below. If you want Debbie to contact you personally, see the email in her bio.

A Facebook friend commented yesterday that an online site offering discounted software had ripped her off. The rub with her was that the site had a Trust logo, the Better Business Logo, and the C|net Certified store logo and she assumed that this was a trustworthy site. Wrong!

So, if you can’t trust the site offering all these supposed logo’s of trust, who can you trust?

Since the holiday shopping season is about to begin and our tech strategy theme is “It’s a TECH HOLIDAY!” I thought I’d use my friends experience to share some tips on how to shop securely and avoid the rip offs online.

First you have to understand that the trust logos are either purchased or allowed with (paid) membership to organizations.

For example, if I joined the Better Business Bureau for their membership fee, I would be allowed to use the BBB logo on my website and my shopping cart.

Now, that’s not to say the BBB doesn’t verify the person requesting membership! Don’t get me wrong. The problem is that some unscrupulous people can still get the BBB logo and use it until the BBB catches up with them. Or they’ll borrow a logo from another website and just place it on theirs!

The problem is that you have to REPORT the problem you’re having with the BBB in order for them to become aware that the seller is not upholding their end of the ethical bargain, or using the logo illegally.

Trust certificates like those issued by VeriSign and others are paid for also and the certificate issuer verifies that the company and person behind the company is verified to be who they say they are.

BUT! The trust logo is ALWAYS a clickable link that goes to a page verifying you are at the verified users site.

To demonstrate, scroll down to the bottom right of ubid.com and click the VeriSign logo!

If the links to the logos are not clickable, the site is not legitimate!

Tip #1: The first thing you need to do is check that company out with the BBB! Just seeing the sign isn’t a guarantee that everything is fine with this merchant.

As an example of this, you can look at BestBuy’s BBB account. You will see complaint after complaint. However, you will also see that BestBuy has done everything they can to resolve those complaints to the customer’s satisfaction! With a retailer the size of BestBuy, you have to expect problems – it’s part of doing business. But the fact that BestBuy resolves the complaints is what’s key here.

The warning sirens should go off if you check out an online retailers BBB report and you find complaints that are not resolved, the company refuses to respond, or that the account is brand new!

In the situation of my Facebook friend, she had tried to verify the site with the BBB, but due to the fact that there was little information about the company, was unable to do so.

Tip #2: Always look at the “About” page and the “Contact” page for information about the company.

On either of those two pages, you should find a legitimate company name and an address and customer service phone number.  If that name, address and phone number is not there they are hiding something.

Not to sell you while you’re reading this, even with my main website being under construction, you can clearly see on the address of the company and phone numbers clearly listed! And as I’m finishing up the shop and the support section of the site, it is clearly marked everywhere.

In the situation with my friend, it turns out while the company is listed in Ohio, there is no legitimate address, and the bank handling her charges on her credit card told her that the money trail goes to Australia and Russia. (Does Identity Theft ring a bell here?)

The truth is, if you’re in business, you should be a LEGITIMATE business and have a contact address and a customer service phone number.

Tip #3: Do a Google search on the company.

This of course, is predicated on the fact that you have a legitimate company name from the website.

The name of the company was clearly stated on the “About” page of this website my friend purchased from. So a simple Google search may have turned up something.

Along these lines, be careful though about sites like Ripoffreports.com or other consumer complaint sites that do not validate the claims of those reporting.

I used to swear by Ripoffreports until one of my clients had an issue with them – but that’s another blog post for another day.

Suffice it to say, that any website where the person can use a fake name and email to file a complaint, and then the company does not verify the legitimacy of the complaint, is useless.

So even though I recommend doing a Google search, keep an open mind what you’re reading.

I put much more credence in the BBB reports than I do one-off consumer complaint sites. But if you see enough negative across the web on a particular company, that’s a pretty good indicator that you shouldn’t do business with them.

Tip #4: Stick with known, credible sites.

While I stopped selling on eBay, I occasionally will buy from their sellers because I know I’m protected. If eBay doesn’t protect me, paying through PayPal does.

But there are other such sites like uBid, Amazon, and the like. There are many resellers on Amazon that offer exceptional deals on named brand items from Books to Toys and all things between!

By sticking with known, credible sites, you are guaranteed that the company backs their sellers and protects the consumers.

Tip #5: If the money trail leads to a foreign country, request your card be replaced with a new number.

Many scam sites will look legitimate in order to capture your credit or debit card number. It’s only a few weeks after the dust settles on your complaint you will find that your Identity has been compromised and new charges start appearing on that card.

Just be safe and request a replacement card with your bank of credit card company.

Tip #6: If you are scammed or ripped off, report it!

A lot of people are embarrassed when they feel they’ve been ripped off or scammed and fail to report it. Some even fail to report the issue with their bank or credit card to have the charges reversed figuring the money is irrecoverable.

Nothing is further from the truth!

If you’ve paid via a debit or credit card carrying the Visa or MasterCard Logo, you are protected for all your purchases! It’s just that simple.

Above all else, report the scam or rip-off to your bank, the Better Business Bureau, and if necessary, the FTC.

Also spread the word across your social networks. You are helping the Internet community become a better place by weeding out these unethical online retailers.

As you can see, just doing a little homework can save you a ton of headaches later.

So, in keeping with my Tip #6, here are the two sites my friend reported and you should NOT do business with these sites!

http://buyrealsoftware.com

http://brandwaresite.com/

If you have others where you’ve been ripped off, scammed, or had your identity stolen, please feel free to post a comment and we’ll add them!

Have a safe online shopping experience!

Meet Author: Debbie Mahler is the owner of MICE Training, Technology and Education™ where the technically terrified can find easy-to-understand computer & website support.  Affordable customized solutions – for your online peace of mind. She is also an online instructor for Ed2go, a division of Cengage Learning where she teaches security to individuals and security professionals.She can be reached at micetnt@gmail.com.

 

 

 

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