The concept of Black Friday Sale is picking up pace with each passing year. It is the day celebrated by shoppers around the world as many famous online shopping websites collaborate with multiple suppliers and vendors dealing in some of the most famous brands to make this shopping festival more attractive.
No matter, this sale brings a lot of benefit to both consumers and retailers but there is a greater chance for someone to get scammed in the name of Black Friday deal. So, here are a few tips to keep yourself safe from being fooled by fraudsters during the shopping season.
Only buy from trusted retailers and websites
A person naturally gets attracted upon coming across deals and discount offers on products they like while scrolling down their newsfeed. However, the sound thing to do in such situation is to do so research about the authenticity of that particular website before purchasing anything.
Hasty decisions may end people up wasting money on worthless products offered in Black Friday sale by fake retailers. Therefore, it is suggested that everyone should buy from only those website that are famous and well-reputed owing to the quality of products they provide to their customers.
Beware of unnecessarily fluctuating prices
A needless increase in prices of products available on a particular website is a practice followed by even some of the most famous online retailers, usually a few weeks before Black Friday. Then, we see a massive cut in prices of the same items when shopping season strikes and this is their so-called ‘Black Friday Sale’.
The point here is to make everyone aware about staying vigilant and attentive toward these kinds of fluctuation of prices and not to get influenced by such discount traps. Instead, it would be appropriate to search online to find out the actual price of the desired product, and then go for the deal.
Feedback from other online shoppers
Let suppose if someone has found the discount deal for which they have been looking all over and their research work also proves its authenticity, still it would be recommended for them to take opinions from people in their circle who have shopped online for a similar deal.
Further digging also has to be done like searching social media and other platforms to look for reviews posted by others too. As a result of doing all this, it would further be assured that all the moves are being made in the right direction and that there would be near to zero chances for anyone to be misled while availing Black Friday deals.
Pay heed to the Terms and Conditions
Terms and Conditions regarding the selected Black Friday deal or the execution of operations on that particular website have to be read carefully, as it is not one of those things that can be missed out. It prevents people from regretting anything later and familiarizes them with all the possibilities that they must know while purchasing something.
Factors like shipping charges or any important information related to the chosen product that has to be known by the purchaser beforehand. These details are usually mentioned to provide convenience to online customers. In case if the Terms and Conditions are not there, then representatives of that websites should be contacted to get necessary questions answered.
Opt for a secure payment gateway
The stage of payment is pretty crucial when anything is being purchased online. It is highly advised that online shoppers must remain very cautious while inserting any of their personal details like bank account or credit/debit card numbers. Once inputted, the information can also be misused if it gets into the wrong hands.
It must be remembered that while making payments, clicking on suspicious and strange links has to be avoided at all cost whether a user is accessing the desired website from desktop or a phone. One wrong step can change the game and it could not be undone, so avoiding all kinds of stakes and risks is feasible.
Avoid downloading unauthentic apps
Since every other shopping website has a smartphone application so this technique has now widely been used by scammers to trick people by coming up with a fake shopping app that is somehow similar to the actual one.
This is one of those clever tactics used by cyber criminals to deprive people off their valuable money by taking information about their credit/debit cards to misuse it and these incidents become more common during shopping season.
Never shop online using public Wi-Fi
Nowadays Wi-Fi connections are available publicly at every other place. They are convenient for people who are out somewhere, especially for commuters and travelers as they get internet access on the go to keeping themselves adequately connected.
Public Wi-Fis are not password protected, maximizing security risk. So, whether it is Black Friday season or any other occasion, online shopping should not be conducted using public internet network. There are chances that the information shared on the open network can be accessed by cyber criminals so it is better for people to use their own data connection while sharing any of their financial information on any particular website if they are far from their trusted home or workplace internet connection.
Clear understandings about Refund/Exchange Policies
Another important thing that has to be kept in mind by people during Black Friday season is to have a proper understandings of refund/exchange policies of the website they are shopping from. There are always chances of dissatisfaction in terms of quality/performance of a particular product that has been purchased online that is when someone requires a return or exchange.
Usually at this time of year when shopping season is at its peak, online retailers change the eligibility timeframe for refunds and exchange cases that they have been tackling with all the year round, according to their suitability. The best way to stay informed about any possible change is by going through refund/exchange policy page every time before the desired online purchase.
All of these tips are purposed to arm people with every necessary information that is required for them to avoid different kinds of scams while availing discount offers and deals on Black Friday. So, happy shopping everyone!
