Beware of Scam Online Stores

Shop on secure sites

The first step you can take to ensure that your information is safe is to choose a web address with an https:// prefix. This means your connection to the site is encrypted, so if anyone else were to intercept it, they wouldn’t be able to read it. You can also check the address bar (the area at the top of your browser window) for a padlock icon, which indicates that the site uses secure sockets layer encryption (SSL).

You should also email stores directly and ask them if they have an SSL certificate before giving them any personal information. If you don’t hear back from them within 48 hours, then another red flag should go up in your mind: maybe they aren’t as legitimate as they seem!

Pay with credit card

If you’re worried about making a purchase online, rest assured that credit card companies and banks are there to help. If you’re scammed, they will reverse the charges and return your money. That’s right: even if someone manages to hack into your account and steal all of your precious funds, they won’t be able to keep them for long. And because credit cards offer greater protection than debit cards, it’s recommended that you use one whenever possible when shopping online (or anywhere).

If this isn’t enough reason for you to switch over from debit cards entirely—we don’t blame you! Debit cards can still come in handy when paying for smaller purchases or when using an ATM machine—don’t worry; there is another way for consumers like yourself avoid getting scammed while shopping online: pay with cash!

Look for contact info

Check for contact info. The first thing you should do when looking for a new online store is make sure that you can actually get in touch with them if something goes wrong. If there’s no phone number or email address listed on the site, then you’ve got a problem: what happens if your order takes longer to arrive than expected? What if it gets lost in transit? Do you have someone who can help resolve these issues quickly and efficiently? If not, then steer clear of that store until they sort out their customer service issues (or just avoid shopping online altogether!).
Check for physical locations. If a company claims to be based somewhere like the USA or Europe but their address only shows one PO Box number and no physical location, run away as fast as possible! There are lots of legitimate businesses these days which operate solely online (and don’t have any real storefronts), but these places often offer free shipping because they don’t have actual inventory costs associated with them (which means lower prices for consumers). In contrast, scam stores try to fool customers by giving themselves an air of legitimacy by claiming an actual business address – even though this address usually turns out to be fake!

Read the fine print

You should always read the fine print before agreeing to anything. The fine print could contain additional charges or fees, which may not be obvious at first glance. It could also contain legal clauses that are not in your favor, such as:

a clause that says you’re agreeing to be charged for services you don’t want (like a subscription)
an arbitration clause that prevents you from suing if something goes wrong

If you’re not comfortable with what you see in the fine print, don’t sign!

Research the company online

Check the company’s website.
Research their social media presence.
Look for complaints about the company and see if there are any red flags.

With the right knowledge and precautions, you can avoid being scammed while shopping online.

One of the most important things to remember when shopping is that you should only use a secure browser. You can tell if your browser is secure by looking for “https” at the beginning of your URL address bar. This means that your connection will be encrypted, which means hackers won’t be able to see what you’re doing on their site or steal any information from you while using it. It’s very important that you always use one of these browsers when entering personal information like credit card details and contact information into an eCommerce website because it protects both parties involved in the transaction (i.e., yourself and whoever owns/runs said website).

Another thing to keep in mind when making purchases online is that whenever possible–especially if it’s something big!–always pay with a credit card rather than debit cards or checks because they offer more protection against fraud due to chargebacks being easier under these circumstances compared with other types of payments options where cash has been involved such as Paypal transfers between accounts within minutes after confirmation from both ends…