Online shopping is convenient, cheap, time-saving, and comes with lots of other benefits. Therefore, people rely more on this style of shopping than standing in queues of the shops, struggling at the cash counter of retail stores, etc. But, online shopping Canada or elsewhere requires some precautions so that you don’t get ever fraudulent by any scamming sites. Yes, there are lots of such sites that have issues with payments and delivery of the products. So, today, you will get to know how to stay safe while shopping online. Read on to know more-
1. Make Sure You Place Your Orders from a Secure Connection
This is the first thing to do. It’s a good idea to secure your internet connection before you go for online shopping. If your computer is not protected from malicious software, your details including passwords and other financial information or any essential information can be stolen. So, make sure you use a secure internet connection to enjoy your online shopping session. If you use a wireless network, make sure it is encrypted well so that no one can steal information. Also, you should avoid any kind of financial transactions while using a public network.
2. Go To Familiar Websites Only
This is another tip to stay safe while online shopping in Canada. You should always buy from trusted and reputed websites. There are lots of unknown shopping sites that offer lucrative discounts. But, these could be spam. While checking out shopping sites, check the spellings of their name and also the domain name. If there is something unusual, do not proceed with the transaction.
3. Use Credit Card rather than Debit Card
Many of us prefer to use credit and debit cards while making payments online. According to experts, using credit cards is a safer option than using debit cards while shopping online. As paying with credit cards means paying from an extension of credit, it doesn’t reveal the details of the associated account. Whereas, with a debit card, the details of your bank account may be compromised.
4. Protect Your Personal Information
When you go online shopping, sometimes you need to share some of your personal information. Make sure to stop and think if the site asking for too much of your information. Figure out why the information was asked. Further, never share super private information like social insurance numbers, passwords, passport numbers, etc. while giving your personal details to the shopping sites.
5. Go through the Reviews and Know the Return Policies
These are two important criteria you need to check while buying anything online. Obviously, all sites are not fishy. How can you figure that out? Check out the reviews of the company from the internet. Know what the users are saying about it. If you see a positive trend from the previous buyers, you can go ahead. Our advice, make sure you buy something inexpensive the first time so that you can get a first-hand experience. Make sure they have a smooth return policy and also provide a money-back guarantee. Go through the website very well before shopping and learn these things about the company.
6. Avoid Impossible Offers
You can indeed get cheaper deals, discounts, and sales from different online shopping sites, but any ‘outstanding’ offers can be the red-alert. Is the site offering products at a too low price than usual? Does it offer high discounts on products regularly? Be cautious as these sites can be a fraud. Many a time, this site also tells you that the product is ‘out of stock’ if you try to purchase an inexpensive product.
7. Always Create Unique Password for Different Websites
You may like to buy things from different websites. There are specific websites to buy certain objects like medicines, groceries, etc. As a habit, always create a new password for every website. Don’t use the same password everywhere. To keep yourself safe in the world of the web, it is very important to maintain different passwords for different websites.
So, these are some simple, yet mandatory tips every buyer should follow for online shopping in Canada.
Bonus tips:
Check out the website whether it is secured with ‘S’ after ‘HTTP’. Make sure you have access to the customer service so that you get proper support if you are facing any issues while shopping from that particular site.
