Buy safely online this silly sale season

It’s that time of the year again when our socials are swamped with sales season discounts. If it’s not 80% off for purchases on Black Friday, its 85% off for Cyber Monday. Then, we are barraged with advertisements for the pre-festive season and Boxing Day sales. Rounding out this annual season of retail madness are the New Year sales.

There are as many opportunities to be ripped off when shopping online as there are to cash in on the bargains of a lifetime.

This year Australians have already lost $7.5m in scams.

In more elaborate scams, fake websites with a name you may recognise (like Sydney or Byron) are the lure for an unwitting purchaser. These websites give the illusion that you are purchasing from an Australian company. You purchase through a fake website that has all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a bonafide vendor. The product never arrives. Your money is gone.

We need to show caution and restraint every time we shop online. If it looks too good to be true, it’s probably a scam.

Treat every online shopping opportunity as if a scam, no matter how enticing, until proven otherwise.

Do your own research before you purchase online. Here are some tips for validating a vendor. Further below there are links with more detailed advice and support on how you can train for an online shopping expedition.

• Check the social media posts for comments about the product. Often there are no comments on a scam advertisement.
• Google the name of the company. If it exists, check Trust Pilot or similar for reviews of the company and its products.
• Scammers masquerading as bogus outlets for high end fashion labels offer crazy discounts as part of phony closing down sales. Check the label website and phone the company to ascertain whether or not the product you are interested in is advertised on social media at a ridiculously low price.
• Try not to be fooled as some scammers will send a product other than the product you purchased, such as a pair of socks instead of the designer handbag you ordered. You’ll only find out you’ve been scammed when you receive a garment you didn’t order.
• Copy a photo of the product that has caught your eye. Paste the copy into Google to check that the quality and price match similar products.
• If the company claims to be an Australian company, check that it is. Does it have an ABN. Look up the ABN and check that the company exists, and the ABN matches that advertised.
• Check that company has a phone number, address and there is a support email address that is monitored.
• If you are unsure, please don’t attempt to buy it. It could end in tears and an empty bank account.
• If you do buy and then realise it’s a scam, try to cancel your order and contact your financial institution immediately.

Consumer Affairs Victoria, Online shopping tips offers excellent advice to online shoppers (Accessed 14 November 2024)

Australian Government e-Safety Commissioner Be Connected offers a range of online courses to help you to learn how to stay online safely. Have a look at this one, Introduction to buying and selling online (Accessed 14 November 2024)

Stay safe this festive season!

A reminder to all of our clients. Secure My Treasures uses IDVerse bank grade identity verification to keep you safe all the time.

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