People also use the internet to buy things. You can buy anything, anywhere, at anytime. But buying anything usually requires a payment in some form or another. Unfortunately the internet has a bad side which is becoming quite a problem. The increase in internet activity has created a breeding ground for criminals and those criminals will try and scam you out of anything they can. They use phony websites, credit/debit card fraud and identity theft to deceive you and rob you of your money.
So now what can you do to protect yourself? Be careful and try to be a little street smart. If something looks suspicious it probably is. Here are some indicators to look out for.
- Most website domain names start with http:// in the address bar but if you see https:// that is a good indication that the site is secure and safe to use. Some websites don’t secure all their pages so if there is no https on the home page have a look at the ‘checkout’ page. If you see https there then you are good to go. It costs money to be https certified and scammers don’t spend money. Yourwebpass uses a virtual checkout which is an email invoice system. All our payment processors and all our website pages are https certified. Click here for more information.
- Websites should be transparent especially their contact information. Location address, email address, phone numbers should be easy to find on a website. If they are difficult to find or they are not provided then be careful. Scammers don’t usually want to be found.
- If you still have doubts about trusting a website do a contact test. Send them an email, ask a question and see if and how they respond. To check the source of any response you need to go to the email header. Click here for instructions issued by various email servers on how to find email headers. Headers provide a whole bunch of information most of which may not make a lot of sense to everyone. But you should be able to find somewhere in the data (usually near the top) a reference to an email address you can recognize as the sender. If it is the address you expect to see then you are pretty much 99% sure everything is good. The other 1% is an allowance for the unknown factor.
Well there you have it. If you are still nervous don’t shop on the internet. Before you make that decision though give Yourwebpass a try. We guarantee to provide a safe and honest online shopping experience.