Beware of the E-Commerce Independence Day Sale Scams!

Over time, online shopping services have captured a vast retail market worldwide. In 2023, online shopping touched around 19% of all retail sales, and it is predicted that by 2027, the percentage will increase by a quarter of the sales of 2023. More than 35% of global people shop online today. Only in the United States, more than 92% of people shop online. If you notice the data of India, the percentage of online purchases has increased drastically after COVID-19, and it reaches 10% or higher over time in the entire retail sales.

Online sellers can offer lower costs for all genuine products because they do not need any type of warehouse cost, outlet opening cost, labor cost, or the cost for building renovation, AC, or light. Still, it has remained unpopular among the 90% of Indians for some online frauds and scammers’ activities. They have been defaming their own business and makes other genuine sellers suspicious. Some online scams also happen during the big sales starts on different reputed online shopping platforms.

For the ignorance of consumer complaints and related complications, people sometimes become fearful of buying online because they consider that they will not get justice if they get cheated. That is why, online shopping has been progressing at a sloth speed. Today’s blog will confirm how you can safely purchase online without getting cheated.  

The considerations that you should follow while online shopping:

Shop from Reputable Websites Only

One of the most fundamental precautions while purchasing online is to be careful on choosing sites that sell goods or products. All e-commerce platforms must be certified by Secure Socket Layer (SSL). If a site is certified by SSL, nobody can steal your personal data from the site. So, swiping cards of sharing personal information will remain safe on the site.

How will you determine that the site is SSL-certified? Is there any way to understand whether the site is SSL-certified? Yes, when you notice the address bar on the browser of a laptop or computer, you will notice HTTPS instead of HTTP at the very beginning of the URL. Besides, you must avoid sites that are not popular with you or the people around you.

HTTPS-included sites can only save you from online hackers, but you cannot be sure that the product you will get will remain 100% genuine or qualitative. You can go for reputed websites and shopping portals like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, or Flipkart. For B2B businesses, you must choose reliable shopping portals as well. You have to follow the other points that are mentioned in this blog.  

Be Cautious of Deals That Are Too Good to Be True

When you notice that you are getting 70% to 90% off for any product, you must be careful to purchase those products, especially when you are noticing it on an unknown web portal.

If you get those types of discounts on any reputed e-commerce portal, you can go for it. However, you have to notice whether the product is from a genuine brand. If you suppose purchasing a product from a reputed brand X, you will get to see the X-brand store listed on that e-commerce portal. On clicking on it, you will get the store's officially listed goods. If you get the same product with the same listed company, you can feel that the product is genuine. If you do not want to be cheated, you must follow this trick. Never forget it.

If you notice that a high-priced item is on sale with a 90% discount or any price that no other site is offering you, consider the site is fake and you will get a fake product. In that case, you may get some pieces of soap or a piece of wood instead of the genuine product.

Check the spelling errors

There are a lot of products enlisted in the reputed e-commerce stores where you will notice spelling mistakes. Usually, customers do not follow it and they make a mistake in reading it. So, they purchase and get cheated. The product will also be available at a very cheap rate. When you notice SAMSUNG is spelled like SAMSUNG, and PONDS is spelled like PONIDS, you will rarely see the spelling error and will make the mistake of purchasing the products. It is not the wrong of the seller, it is the lack of caution. You must be aware of the products which are a copy product of an original brand. Check for spelling errors, poorly designed layouts, or low-resolution product images, which are red flags of a fake website.

Be cautious!

Seller’s Credentials Must Be Verified

You will notice some sellers are selling goods at a very cheap rate which is 80% to 90% less than the regular price, you must verify the seller's credentials. If you notice CASIO watch sellers on the B2C portal like Flipkart, Amazon, or similar other portals, you will notice their dealership with the specific watch company/distributors, etc. If you do not see this kind of authenticity, you must avoid the seller.

Besides, you have to notice whether the seller is rated highly. If the seller is rated great, you can go for them. Still, be careful about the authenticity of the products when it is sold at very cheap prices. It is previously mentioned that you need not think a lot when you are purchasing from a brand store online or a brand listed on the reputed portal.

The news of hope is that if you purchase any product from a reputed shopping portal like Amazon, Flipkart, or similar reliable sites where that take responsibility for good products, and have some specific replacement and refund policy, you can purchase.  

Use Secure Payment Methods

You have to use a secured payment method. Otherwise, scammers may peep there to empty your bank account. To ensure a safe transaction, you have to use a secure payment process that uses secure gateways like UPI, Banking applications, personal computers with antivirus, credit cards, PayPal, and so on. However, you have to keep in mind that the website where you are paying must be SSL (HTTPS) secured. Otherwise, your data may be transferred to anywhere else, and your bank account will be vacant in moments.

Beware of Phishing Emails and Messages

Scammers may get your data in different ways. Your number or email IDs are shared with job portals, social media, shopping centers, and other places. When you are registering with any application on your mobile phone, it may ask to access the data (mobile numbers, contact, email, etc.). Once you permit those applications, it may go to the hands of those applications. So, you have to keep yourself aware of phishing emails sent from fraud service providers with data-stealing links. They may also provide screen-sharing application installation links by the name of low-cost products. Scammers frequently send fake promotional emails and messages that mimic genuine brands. Scammers send it by the name of reputed e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. You will surely notice that they will tell you to share 10 groups or personal contacts to avail of some offers. They will tell you to fill up a form where the name, mobile number, email address, and any other data is included. Avoid these types of phishing links that may be dangerous for your data as well as the data of others. So, it is a great scam by the name of offers. Be careful!

At the same time, you have to keep in mind that the company’s Gmail number must not be with the domain of Google. Amusingly, they send emails created through Google dot com, instead of the official domain of any company. So, be careful about such scams. Don’t share any credentials anywhere until you remain sure that they are authentic and purpose-oriented.

Read Product Descriptions and Reviews Carefully

Through social media, web advertisements, and similar other places, scammers sell substandard products with huge discounts. You may consider that the products are original, but you are wrong. They are scammers and will not give you the same quality service/output from the product. They usually mislead through the product description, brand logo, packaging image, and so on. Be careful to step forward to buy them. Before purchasing, justify the site URL, product and its description, product reviews, and many more. Look into the authorities to whom the company has given the authority to sell and market. Don’t rely on the customer reviews of a fake site. Reviews are also fake.

When you purchase any product from a good e-commerce website, you have to justify the sellers’ and product ratings, and reviews written over there. Then, you can decide to buy a product.

Check the Return and Refund Policies of the Product

Before making a purchase, you must read the return and refund policy of the seller or e-commerce website. Lots of websites offer the best possible return and refund policy. Some companies have odd refund policies that rarely declare a facility to return and refund. Usually, the fake companies do not allow return and refund policies.

However, there are a lot of e-commerce platforms like Flipkart or Amazon that have their own return and refund policies. They regulate their customers and sellers. Therefore, the customers will get a return and refund from the end of the platforms. So, you can get extra facility for return and refund of the product according to their regulation. Purchasing from reputed platforms will give you that many facilities.

Make a video of the product during unboxing

During unboxing, you must make a video to get perfect support from the seller. If possible, pay the amount and keep the delivery body standing. Turn on your camera to make a video and unbox the product. If there is any fraud, you can easily identify it. Then, you can make a replacement or refund claim legally. Some companies writes on the site to make an unboxing video to claim replacement for damaged products. Follow it.

Avoid Public Wi-Fi for Online Shopping

You should never access public Wi-Fi for online shopping, and even for any type of internet access. The Wi-Fi authority will get all your data and hackers may peep through the Wi-Fi network and get the entire of your personal data, payment information, banking details, and all. So, you may fall victim to financial threats. If you use it you can use a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) that may help protect your data. Be careful, you should never pay any by using a public internet network system.

Avoid clicking on a fake advertisement and popup ads.

These applications or pop-up advertisements might contain serious, spam, and can track your data. Therefore, your data will go into the hands of others. Even by the name of an offer or discounted sale, your bank account might be empty for the action of the black hat hackers.

Conclusion

Online sales events offer great opportunities for savings, but they also attract cybercriminals looking to exploit eager shoppers. By following these essential precautions—shopping from reputable sites, using secure payment methods, avoiding phishing scams, and staying informed—you can significantly reduce the risk of online shopping fraud. Stay vigilant, shop smart, and enjoy a safe online shopping experience! If you face any issue related to online fraud, you can contact Online Legal India to get legal advice as well as consumer complaint filing support. Contact us today.