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Viewing Online Shopping 101 - Do You Know How to Shop Safely?Online Shopping 101 - Do You Know How to Shop Safely?
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As more and more people use the Internet for shopping, con-artists are getting onto the Net as well. In the virtual world, you send money with a click and without any physical interaction with a cashier. How can you protect yourself from scammers? By Natalie Aranda Online shopping is very convenient - whether you want to comparison shop for computer hardware, compare prices for sporting goods, or compare the cost of watches to find perfect birthday gifts for your loved ones. Besides vast information at your fingertips to help you learn more about products and services before making a purchase decision, you can compare prices with a few clicks. Home appliances comparison shopping could save you hundreds of dollars. As more and more people use the Internet for convenient shopping, con-artists are getting into the online world as well. In the virtual world, you send money with a click and without any physical interaction with a cashier. Most online shopping sites accept credit cards, and many of them take debit cards and e-checks. Some B2B exchanges even accept purchase orders. PayPal now has over 70 million users worldwide, and it is common for people to conduct transactions purely via email. Shopping on the Internet is no less safe than shopping in a store or by mail if we follow the same principles of safe offline shopping. Shop at websites of companies that you know and trust. This is the foundation of safe online shopping. You'll likely have a happy shopping experience without getting into potential troubles later on. Some con-artists create websites looking like trusted websites. I receive at least one eBay scam email almost every day from crooks pretending to be eBay or PayPal customer service reps - trying to lure you to give out your user name and passwords. Look at the URL carefully and use a secure connection for your payment submission. Secure browser sessions not only encrypt the purchase information you send over the Internet, but also authenticate the owner of a website to ensure that a site is what it claims to be, not a predator. If you shop on a trusted, authenticated website, online shopping is actually safer than offline shopping - since every transaction is tracked and you'll receive confirmation via email. Both credit card transactions and PayPal transactions are protected by the payment service processors or issuers. Before giving out personal information, ask yourself whether the information is necessary for a transaction. Trusted websites will usually ask for minimum information that is required to process the order, no more, no less. This is necessary in case you ask for a refund or file a dispute. Keep all your transaction confirmation e-mails in one folder for easy access, and make backup copies of important electronic information. This is the time to identify any errors or unauthorized purchases and to reconcile your account balance. Review the statements thoroughly, and call customer service promptly and notify your card issuers if you identify disparities or unauthorized transactions. Happy online shopping! About the Author: Natalie Aranda is a freelance writer. She contributes to www.justunder.com - a comparison shopping website. Article Source: 1st Rate Articles - http://1stRateArticles.com |
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