Online shops have been widely made available across the globe due to the diversifying economy. As a result, many people have turned to online shopping since it is convenient and saves time. However, online stores come with a great danger for online shopping lovers. Sometimes, it tends to be challenging to identify a genuine shop due to increased cybercrime activities. As a first-time buyer in an online platform, you are likely to have countless questions on whether it is safe for you to buy goods online. Despite the rise in fake online shops, all hope is not lost if little effort is put in place. You can apply the following strategies to know whether a shop is legit or not to avoid scams.
Checking contact details
A legit online shop will provide its contact details on its site. The contact details may include their address, email, and phone number. Some shops go to the extent of providing their website to create trust in their potential customers. Any online shop that cares for its prospective customer will always be willing to help you with queries that arise about their existence. If you are a first-time buyer, it would be necessary for you to get in touch with your chosen online shop. In that way, you will establish whether they are real or risky for you to do business with them. A legit business will not hesitate to provide their work valid certificate to capture the attention and earn your trust.
Check the URL
There are fraudulent sites with URLs that resemble legitimate online shops. Before proceeding with any online shopping transaction, you need to check in the address bar to ensure you are on a safe platform. Some URLs have spelling errors that cybercriminals use for fake sites, hoping to fall into their trap upon mistyping the URL. In that case, you ought to check well after typing the URL to ensure you do not miss even a single detail lest you fall into deep trouble.
Customer feedback
An online shop that has been in operation will have some customer feedback. The feedback will either be from a customer who was impressed or instead, showing concern about the products or services offered by the shop in question. Upon going through the feedback available on a shop’s site, you will be in a position to establish whether it’s in existence or is a scam. Some feedbacks may either show dissatisfaction of customers or may even complain from people who the shop in question has conned. The art of going through customer feedback will save you a lot of energy, and in most cases, you will not end up being a victim of a scam.
Applying these tips will establish whether an online shop is legit or a con business. Nevertheless, you should not depend on one piece of information by itself to test your safety. When used in a combination, there are higher chances you will arrive at the desired results.
