This article describes various simple steps to avoid being scammed by fake E-commerce websites. Read on How to Check If an Online Shopping Site is a Fraud.
Are you interested in knowing the methods that help to identify if an E-commerce website is a scam or not? If so, keep reading this article that suggests practical methods to identify those websites and avoid online purchases.
E-commerce websites saw a massive surge in the number of customers during and after the Covid-19 pandemic and its lockdown. Millions of new customers were added as online buyers this year.
As per the data on March 2020, 14.3 billion visits were recorded by retail customers. As per the studies conducted in the US, about 29% of those who participated in the survey stated that they would continue shopping online, and 43% of customers from the UK stated that they are planning to shop online after lockdown. Go through the helpful instructions on How to Check If an Online Shopping Site is a Fraud.
Impact Of Online Shopping on Customers
- The major advantage of shopping online is saving valuable time. E-commerce websites help to reduce the commuting time between home and shops. Additionally, the customer doesn’t need to roam inside the shop or supermarket to find a particular product and eliminates the time wasted while waiting for final billing.
- Online shopping helps to order products that are not available on the residing location of the customer.
- The customer can order products from suppliers worldwide for a free or minimal shipping fee charged by the merchant.
How to Check If an Online Shopping Site is a Fraud
Here are some simple yet efficient steps to identify fraudulent shopping websites:
- Check the Domain Name
The URL of the website displays many characteristics of the website. Most trustworthy websites have a normal and simple domain name, e.g., amazon.com or alibaba.com.
Strange alphabets, typos, a mixture of names and numbers are considered a red flag. The domain ending such as .edu, .org or .net are also not used by genuine E-commerce websites.
- Poorly Built Website
The websites that look badly designed without proper structure can signify a fake website created quickly to cheat unaware online users. Keep reading to know about How to Check If an Online Shopping Site is a Fraud.
Most scammers don’t take time and effort to build a great website as it involves lots of time and funding. Fake websites also contain multiple spelling and grammatical errors as the scammers aim to trap customers with less knowledge about websites.
- SSL Encryption
Genuine E-commerce websites enable SSL encryption as the website deals with highly sensitive, secure and private data of the customer, including card details, billing address, contact number, email id etc.
The website with SSL encryption starts with https:// and a lock symbol. This SSL certification doesn’t totally guarantee the website’s trustworthiness, as many fraudulent websites also use this certification. Learn more on How to Check If an Online Shopping Site is a Fraud here.
Customer Reviews
Reviews about the website on major website review platforms such as Trustpilot can be considered to understand the nature of the shopping website. The website with the most negative ratings and reviews is to be avoided.
Also, check for links to the website’s official social media handles, where the customer comments and reviews the website’s service.
Domain Age
The age of the E-commerce website also plays a crucial role in determining the website’s credibility as most of the scammers create a website and dump it quickly as soon as they acquire money by cheating few customers. Domains existing for a long time has less chance of being a spam website.
Final Tip
There is no single tip or trick to finding out a fraud website. Combine different checklists mentioned above and conduct a personal analysis of the E-commerce website before initiating any online purchase.
Conclusion
Online shopping websites saw a huge demand as most people preferred staying home to reduce their exposure to a crowded area with a high potential for infecting various virus variants. To understand more about the topic, please visit.
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