Online Shopping ...!!

Mr. Srinivas Rao wanted to gift his daughter a Laptop. He accessed a few online auction websites and finally chose one that gave him a very good deal. He bid, won, and paid for the product using his debit card. The product was to be shipped to him within a week. 10 days passed by and the Laptop wasn’t delivered. He checked with the auction site and got the street address of the seller, he found that the street address wasn’t valid. The seller was no where !! How did the seller suddenly disappear ? He did not, for there was no such seller in the first place.

Mr. Srinivas Rao had become a victim of online auction fraud. When at an online auction, make sure you gather sufficient information to validate the claims made by the seller. If there are unrealistic claims of benefits, it most likely is a fake. Try to avoid online purchasing

Some Safety tips to protect you from Online Banking and Auctions Fraud

Beware of phishing. Verify that you are receiving emails from the correct source and that you are logging in at the correct website

When making payment, prefer using your credit card over online transfer. Using a credit card give you the opportunity of a chargeback in case the transaction turns out a fraud

Use debit card, wire transfer, or money order only when you trust the seller

Use reputed escrow services. An escrow service mediates a buyer and a seller. They accept money from buyers and release them to a seller only when the buyer confirms that the product was received to his/her satisfaction. But be wary of sellers or buyers who themselves pose as an escrow service to cheat the other—a buyer posing as an escrow service gets a product released without making payment, or a seller poses as an escrow service to trick the buyer from making a payment

Check for feedback and rating of the buyer, which most online auction website provide

DO NOT entertain emails received from outside of the auction website mentioning that the highest bidder has withdrawn and you are now entitled for a product. They veer you off the auction website and you lose any protection that the website may provide

NEVER make a deal with a seller outside the auction. Although they sound lucrative, you are at a very high risk of being cheated

READ the auction website’s terms and conditions, buyer protection policy, refund policy before making a transaction. Here, they list in how many days the order will be fulfilled, what if the product you receive is not the same as what was advertised, and so on. Also check that the policies are fair on both buyers and sellers

Check if the product you are purchasing has appropriate warranty and documentation with it. If not, make sure that you intend to purchase it without that protection. Check if shipping and delivery is covered by the seller or if you have to bear those costs

Check that you are not purchasing a product that you are not allowed to possess lawfully

BE WARY of products that offer revolutionary results. In most cases, they are fraudulent claims

DO NOT respond to emails that ask for your personal information, such as your log in details or credit card details

READ the online auction website for feedback on the seller and a rating that they give to sellers and buyers. Most online auctions rate the sellers and buyers based on their transactions’ feedback

READ the product features and the model number that you intend to purchase. Verify these with what is being advertised by the seller

When giving your credit card details or your debit account details at a website, check that the Internet connection you are using is secure. Look for a lock at the bottom or https (an‘s’ appended to ‘http’) in the address field of your browser. These indicate that the connection is a secure one

Avoid making a transaction if anything in the auction seems suspicious to you

If you are cheated on any product purchase, be sure to post a note on the online auction website and let them know personally