Not only has it changed the way of doing business, but e-commerce has also caused a rapid change in shopping consumer habits. Today, buying what you need is just a click away, you can shop from the comfort of your home, that's the trend now. It is evident that online shopping provides a level of ease that traditional retail can't match, however, e-commerce is without a doubt more risky.
The e-commerce industry is a hotspot of cyber threats, from phishing attacks to false advertising and credit card skimming scams. As a conscious user, we must know how to protect ourselves. These five helpful tips can help you decide if you're on a fake site before you "add to cart" your favorite product.
Verify the URL
The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of a webpage. Hackers make fake sites that look almost the same as the original, they use a domain name that's nearly identical to the site domain they are faking.
The first thing you should look for is if there are any errors or extra characters in the URL.
For instance, an attacker might make a fake site at flippkartt.com, to scam people into thinking they are using the original Flipkart site. But the real URL will look like "https://flipkart.com/." The URL of the fake site would be "http://flippkartt.com/." You might observe there is a difference in the protocol. The original site uses HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), while the fake uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol).
The HTTPS prefix means your data is encrypted in transit, but takes more time and cost to set up, so the scammers don't try.
In a nutshell, most phishing scams work like this. It all comes down to cloning a real business and stealing sensitive info from users. It is always important to check the URL before you proceed.
The content and design
A real business website would not have grammatical and spelling mistakes. Few scammers might hustle to proofread the content of their fake site, but not all do that. If you visit a site and notice it has mistakes and typos, chances are it's a scam.
Similarly, a real business won't publish low-quality images or poor designs. Scammers will do that because they don't have an image to maintain.
The scammer would scrape photos from the web using software, or just put random images that aren't related to the product. This is your sign to stay away from the fake website.
Don't fall for too-good-to-be-true offers
The iPhone 15 is currently costing around 72000 INR. Suppose you see the product online selling for 30000 INR, it is most likely a scam.
It is an easy bait as buyers like to crack deals, and in a rush, fall prey to the scam. Scammers know that huge discounts work as a glue trap for economically struggling buyers. So next time, make sure you see the right price before rushing to "add to cart" on an online shopping website.
Read the About Us page
A legit e-commerce site will always have an elaborate "About Us" page, the buyer can clearly understand the business's goals, mission, etc. with the help of given info. Sometimes, "About Us" also includes info regarding careers, team members, and ownership. Lastly, there's a detailed privacy policy and a contact form for interested customers and media professionals.
With time, the scams have upped their games as scammers now use AI to scale their attacks, however only a few bother to make a legit "About Us" page. If you notice that an online shopping site doesn't have these elements, and it's lacking transparency, you should avoid it. Don't spend your money without checking these pages.
Read the reviews
You should always go through an online store's reviews before buying a product. A legit business will always have a review somewhere. You can start with Google reviews, just type the business name and go to the reviews section. Bingo, you can now check what others say about the store.
If you can't find even a single review, the store might not be fake, but it's best to avoid it. You can also check what others are saying on social media. Twitter and Reddit are some common sites where users share their experiences. It barely takes a minute, but can save you from a scam.
