How to avoid getting scammed when shopping online?
Ordering from an online store is a convenient and often inexpensive way to order goods delivered directly to your home, saving you time and money. With online stores growing their turnover every year and more and more money moving through them, they have also been identified by cybercriminals as a way to make money by taking it from shoppers without providing the promised goods or services, or to steal credit card details. There is no need to be afraid of shopping online, but as always, remain careful. When shopping online, the simple rule is to check everything!
What to look out for when shopping online?
- Check whether the offer is real. If the offer seems too good to be true, it is most likely a scam.
- Use domestic or reputable foreign online stores that offer a purchase guarantee, meaning that if the product you receive does not meet your expectations or is broken, you will get a refund or a new product.
- Find out more about the background of the online store by googling it (tax debt of the owner of the store, feedback from other customers on forums, etc.) or asking friends about their experiences. In the case of Estonian online stores, you can also check the blacklist of the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority.
- Find out more about the background and reviews of a product or a service online. Find out what others think about the product or service and whether it is easy to terminate or cancel a subscription. Be sceptical of reviews in the online store – they are easy to fake.
- Make sure that the address of the online store is exactly as it should be, that an encrypted connection is used (https at the beginning of the web address, not http), and that the security certificates of the store are valid.
- Take a look at the appearance of the online store. Spelling mistakes, images that do not match the text or are of poor quality, and other dubious details are not part of the arsenal of a trustworthy trader.
- When using an online store, think about whether you need an account there or whether it is easier to place an order as a guest, avoiding another account where data leaks can occur (data leaks often start from poorly secured online stores where people have entered their data themselves).
- When placing an order, think about whether all the information that is requested is necessary for completing the order, and only provide the store with the details that are directly necessary for completing the order. For example, when arranging a delivery to a parcel machine, the online store will need your phone number, but not your home address.
- When making a payment, prefer to pay by bank transfer or use other secure payment methods. If you pay by credit card, check the background of the store particularly carefully before entering your card details, and if in doubt, do not buy from that store.
Contact your bank immediately if:
- you suspect your credit card details have been stolen;
- you notice suspicious transactions on your bank or credit account;
- the trader does not reply or you are not happy with their reply. You may be able to cancel your credit card payment or prevent further theft.
If you have fallen victim to fraud, notify the police at https://cyber.politsei.ee/ and the Incident Response Department of the Information System Authority by emailing cert@cert.ee.
For more information on consumer rights, please visit: https://ttja.ee/.
Additional information
Online stores registered in the European Union have a legal obligation to publish information that allows them to be identified.
It is essential that the website of the online store contains the following information:
- details of the company (name, commercial registry code, address, contact details, etc.);
- email address and telephone number to contact in case of problems;
- the conditions for lodging a complaint as well as terms and conditions of the warranty, the conditions under which unsuitable goods will be returned, and who will bear the costs of return;
- payment methods and delivery terms.
If this information is absent, you are dealing with a shady trader! To give shoppers confidence when shopping online, the Estonian Ecommerce Association awards the Turvaline ostukoht trust label to compliant online stores.
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