How to tell if a website is a scam for Online Shoppers
How to tell if a website is a scam for Online Shoppers
We’ve all been there. Shopping around for clothes, shoes, decorations. You stumble across a website you never heard with incredibly discounted prices. It seems too good to believe. Soon its six months and you never received your package. More than likely, you have been scammed.
I have fallen victim to one of these websites. When I was in college, I was shopping for decorations for my dorm. I saw on Twitter that a small boutique had decorations for 50% off. Who doesn’t love a great deal, right? Soon, August rolled around and I was leaving for school. My package never arrived. That is when I realized I had been scammed. Luckily, they didn’t take any more money out of my account other than the $40 I spent. From then on, I became overly cautious about where I order online. I do extensive research on websites to make sure that I will never be scammed again. I was lucky that I only lost $40. It can be so much worse. There is always a chance of being scammed, no matter how much research you do, but you have to decide if that is a risk you are willing to take. In the meantime, here is my process in determining whether a website is a scam.
1. I always try to steer clear of websites that have no contact information listed. I always, always make sure that a phone number is listed. An email is not good enough because it is too easy to just create a fake Gmail account and list it as a business email. A phone number shows that the business has a reliable way to be contacted. If you are still unsure about it, call the number and ask for more information.
2. Research the business and try to find reviews. The beauty of the internet is that everyone has an opinion and somehow, has made it online. Try to find a few reviews that confirm whether it is a scam or not. Sometimes, I can even find reviews on Facebook. People aren’t afraid to voice their opinions on Facebook, so it is really easy to find what people are saying about a site.
3. Check the grammar on the website. Official website are run by professionals, so there are probably not many errors. One or two might pop up, but overall, it is grammatically correct. If there are a ton of errors or if the English on the site is just plain bad, it is probably a scam.
4. Finally, I always think about how I heard of the site. I always want to make sure that I get the website from someone reliable. If a friend suggested it, it’s probably safer. If social media or a social media influencer suggested it, I am a bit more wary and do my research. You never know the type of people out there, so make sure you get all your information from a reliable source. Even if the person who suggests it is your favorite influencer, make sure you double check the facts. Sometimes, even they are wrong. It might be completely unintentional, but make sure that you can fully trust the source that gave you this website.
Another thing you can do is check to see if the website is secure, look for domain certificates, and make sure the URL is real and not misspelled. Sometimes scams are more obvious than others, so make sure you follow your gut and look for the red flags.
There are plenty of discounted clothing websites that are legit. Just make sure to do your research and trust your gut. Scams are out there, so please shop safe!