3 Tips for Safer Online Shopping

With COVID-19 shutting down thousands of storefront and mall locations, more retailers have moved towards ecommerce, making shopping online more convenient than ever before. And with rising costs of nearly everything, more consumers are searching online for deals during this time of economic uncertainty. This has created a perfect storm for online scams and fraudulent websites taking advantage of online shoppers. So how can you protect yourself?

These tips are used every day by our own deal experts and are a huge reason why we consider Brad’s Deals to be The Safest Place to Shop On Earth^TM.

1. Choose Your Payment Method Wisely

There are a lot of payment options out there right now. PayPal, credit cards, debit cards, Google Wallet, Apple Pay, the list goes on. The payment type you choose can help protect you should anything go awry with your purchase.

When in doubt, pay using a credit card. We can’t tell you the number of times a savvy shopper has come to us saying they ordered from a sketchy website and never received their order. We always give them the same advice: File a dispute with your credit card company and ask them to reverse the charge.

There is no harm to you in doing this. You are alerting the credit card company of a fraudulent business as well as getting your money back.

2. Watch Out For Phishing Emails

If you get an email or an order confirmation from a company you don’t remember ordering from, it should raise a red flag, especially if the email address it’s sent from isn’t an official company address. Also, order confirmation emails usually come immediately, or within a few minutes, after you make a purchase online. If you’re getting a confirmation or “thank you” email and you haven’t bought something within the last 15 minutes, it’s probably a scam.

Beware of email spoofing. Email spoofing is when an email comes from a forged email address. If you receive a shady email from a company you know and trust, email spoofing is likely to blame and you should delete it immediately.

Finally, scammers often riddle phishing emails with misspellings and poor grammar, because people who don’t notice these things are more likely to fall for their tricks. Keep an eye out for that and the links provided in the body of the email. Be sure to hover over (but don’t click!) on them… if they seem to be directing you somewhere other than the official store site, delete and don’t look back.

If you are concerned that your account may have been compromised, your best bet is to contact the retailer directly by entering their website address in your browser and using the contact information they provide on their site.

3. Inspect the Website

If the logo in an email or on a Facebook page doesn’t match the website they’re sending you to, be wary. For example, our logo says “Brad’s Deals” very clearly and our website is www.bradsdeals.com. This is what you want to look for. If you see a Wayfair logo on Facebook and the website it takes you to is something like retailgoodssale.com, you can likely assume they’re a scam page looking to take your money. Always, always check the website URL to know who you’re ordering from.

If you do find yourself on a website you haven’t been to before and it looks safe to you, then check their contact information. Make sure they offer a direct email address, phone number, and mailing address so that you know the company is real. This is not foolproof and you should still take caution, but having clear and direct customer service contact information is an easy way to spot a legitimate company.

Shop Safe and Be Smart

Use these three tips for safer online shopping. And if you’re ever unsure about a website or a deal you see online, ask us. Message us on Facebook or email us and we’ll help you determine whether the retailer is trustworthy and the deal is legitimate. Just like our deals, there’s a real human behind every email and message from us. We’re here to help you feel safe, secure, and smart while shopping online.