Top 10 tips for Safe Internet Shopping

Over £5 billion pounds was spent on online shopping in 2004. The Internet was the fastest growing retail sector last year, attracting one in four shoppers. The growth rate for the online market was 27.4 per cent, six times better than for the traditional retail market. This looks set to rise as more and more people look for more convenient ways of shopping. It's easy to search for a product and then purchase it ? all at the click of a button and from the comfort of your home. You have a fun time shopping, browsing, reading and gathering information about products, and you don't have to take time out from your busy schedule to fight traffic, crowds and queues to buy the perfect gift for your recipient.

But how can you ensure you are shopping safely? Brad Bagherian, Managing Director, at Elaborations Ltd, a web design company in Amersham, has put together the following tips for safe surfing:

1. Take your time

Take your time when purchasing online since high pressure sales tactics, just like in the real world, often indicate possible frauds. Ensure the site is easy to use, designed well and looks professional. An amateur's site will often look cluttered.

If you are in doubt, stop the transaction. You can stop the transaction anytime before pressing the Pay and / or Confirm button that sends your order off to the business.

2. Look for Contact Details

You may think all online shops will have their contact details on their website. You might be surprised to find that some do not provide their details, no email address and no phone number. This is a sure red flag. Reputable online shops will always provide concise contact information, this includes a physical address and a phone number. If you are suspicious trust your gut feelings. Do not buy online if you are unsure that the shop is real.

3. Consider all costs before purchasing

Shop around and compare prices before buying. When you calculate the cost of a product make sure that you take into account of the delivery charge and the VAT ? these are often not included in the overall price. Also make sure what you're buying is not subject to any import restrictions.

4. Check the Returns Policy

Most reputable online shops offer strong guarantees and stand behind their products. Check the Returns Policy before you proceed to the checkout. Things you should take particular note of are; what happens if the goods are damaged or faulty, who should pay the postage costs for the return of an unwanted item and how many days you have to return an unwanted item. Online shopping surpasses the physical shops in convenience, but there is a disadvantage of being unable to physically touch the products, so the greater the refund policy period the better. If there is no refund policy, the best advice is to stay away.

Plus don't forget that under the Distance Selling Regulations, you do have a seven-day-cooling-off period in case you change your mind. For further information on Distance Selling Regulations see http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/ecomm.htm

5. Check Delivery Options

Find out when they will be delivering and whether you can choose the delivery date and time. Make sure the address you provide for delivery will have someone available who can sign for the package when it arrives.

Various delivery options may incur extra costs. For example, faster delivery, registered post and weekend delivery may cost extra. So if you don't want to be surprised when checking out, make sure you find out what their delivery terms are like.

6. Protect your Personal Information

Avoid giving out personal information that is not strictly necessary for a successful purchase.

Check the companies Privacy Policy (which is usually located at the bottom of the website) which tells you what they intend to do with your information. They should maintain your personal details in the strictest privacy and confidentiality according to the 1998 Data Protection Act.

7. Ensure the Transaction is Secure

Check whether the website complies with the industry's security standards (SSL) which help prevent fraud and protect you by encrypting the personal information you send over the Internet during the transaction. This encryption means that a hacker will not be able to steal your credit card and personal information. You must ensure the following two measures are in place before you complete any transaction on the Internet  Ensure a padlock image is present on the bottom right hand side of your browser  Ensure the web address begins with "https"

8. Pay by Credit Card

This will give you added protection because your credit card issuer becomes jointly responsible for the goods that you buy. So if there is a problem that the company won't resolve, the credit card company will assist you. While the problem is being investigated, you would not need to pay the credit card charge and if the company still doesn't deliver or they are a scam, you're in a much better position to claim your money back.

9. Keep a record of everything

Once you have made an online purchase, you will receive an email confirmation and an order reference number. Print these out and keep a note of any reference numbers provided during the transaction. It would also be useful to print out the details of the product or service you ordered. If there was a special offer on at the time, print out the web page with the offer on it. This will include vital information such as the web address, date and time it was printed. If you can not print out the information, then save the page in a folder on your PC for reference. These may be relevant if a dispute arises.

10. Know Your Rights

Online consumers have exactly the same rights as offline consumers. The goods should fit the product description and be as satisfactory as described online. If something goes wrong with your purchase, there are actions you can take with the shop, and your bank to fix the problem. For further information take a look at the Office of Fair Trading website.

Brad Bagherian, Managing Director, at Elaborations Ltd comments: "As long as you have these tips in mind, you can shop on the Internet with your mind at ease. Most online shops and companies provide excellent value and discount prices because they do not have to cover the overheads of a physical business that will cost them insurance, employee pay, taxes and more. It's no surprise then that we are finding more and more businesses are taking their products and services to the web by setting up ecommerce sites."

Brad Bagherian is the founder and MD of elaborations Ltd (http://www.elaborations.co.uk). elaborations is a London based Design Company specialising in website design and development, graphic design and Internet marketing.

---

8 Surefire Ways to Spot an E-Mail Identity Theft Scam!

The E-Mail Identity Theft Scam is running Rampant. These E-Mail... Read More

Passwords or Pass Phrase? Protecting your Intellectual Property

Much has been said on the theory of password protection... Read More

How Spyware Blaster Can Protect Your Computer From Harm

By browsing a web page, you could infect your computer... Read More

Securing Your Accounts With Well-Crafted Passwords

In the past I've never really paid much attention to... Read More

Types Of Computer Infections

Computer infections can be broken up into 4 main categories... Read More

Dont be a Dork ? Protect Yourself

There are folks out there who use their powers for... Read More

Free Spyware Removal - Its Not As Easy As It Sounds

Nobody wants to pay to remove spyware. At the very... Read More

How To Avoid Hackers From Destroying Your Site?

Recently, my site and other internet accounts ( http://www.nabaza.com/sites.htm )... Read More

Internet Scams: Dont be a Victim

As the number of people using the Internet as an... Read More

SCAMS ? Be Aware ? And Report When Necessary

The Internet is a vast International Network of people and... Read More

Web Browsing - Collected Information

You may not realize it, but as you are surfing... Read More

Phishing and Pharming: Dangerous Scams

As soon as almost all computer users already got used... Read More

Dont Allow Hackers to Take Out Money from Your Bank Account

If you know what is the 'Fishing' then it's very... Read More

How Free Scripts Can Create Security Problems

With the Internet entering our lives in such an explosive... Read More

Consumers: Shop Online and Get Information Safely

Do you really have to know how feeds work? Not... Read More

Keeping Worms Out of Your Network...

No auntie Sookie, not earth worms, computer virus worms that... Read More

HackAttack

P C. owners are constantly at risk from attacks by... Read More

Password Security and Safety

There is nothing more important that password security in world... Read More

Internet Small Business and Fraud

Be careful of sites that promise to send you "instant... Read More

Just Whos Computer is this Anyway?

Well, this is an article I never thought I would... Read More

Phishing - A High Tech Identity Theft With A Low Tech Solution

Have you ever got an email asking you to confirm... Read More

Make Money Online - Defend Against The Latest Scam

First, let's do a little recap'. As I stated in... Read More

Internet Privacy

Over the past few years as the internet has become... Read More

Reducing Fraudulent Transations ? 5 Simple Ways To Protect Yourself

The money being spent online is steadily growing. With billions... Read More

New Mass Mailing Spamming Internet Trojan for the Windows Platform

May. 16th 2005 - MicroWorld has reported the discovery of... Read More

How to Prevent Online Identity Theft

Identity theft rates one of the fastest growing crimes in... Read More

If You Steal It, They May Come!

Business on the internet is getting down right shameless. This... Read More

Make Money Online - Latest Scam Disclosed

Before we start, I want to make it clear that... Read More

Its War I Tell You!

There are ways to insure security though. You can get... Read More

Reporting Internet Scams

When it comes to reporting Internet scams most of us... Read More

I Spy...Something Terribly Wrong (In Your Computer)

This really chapped my lips...I recently bought a new computer.... Read More

Phishing-Based Scams: A Couple of New Ones

Phishing in its "classic" variant is relatively well-known. Actually, 43.4... Read More

Ransom Trojan Uses Cryptography for Malicious Purpose

Every day millions of people go online to find information,... Read More