Today is Cyber Monday , a day when all webshops (and not only) give big discounts to many products they sell.
Even if the discount campaigns of some webshops are incredible and too good to let it go, you should think twice before giving the order:
- the discount is for a product that everybody wants and seems very hard to find. Think of PS5, latest XBOX, etc….
- the discount is waaaaayyy too big to miss
- you haven’t seen that website/webshop before
- you haven’t bought from that webshop before
- you haven’t seen on the Internet any review about that webshop
- you are being requested to give your personal details, card or bank PIN number
If you answered YES to at least one, then STOP right here, right NOW.
As a rule of thumb
If something is too good to be true, then probably it isn’t!
How can you recognize if a webshop is fake or fraud?
Transform the 5 statements above in questions and ask yourself.
- Is the discount for a product that everybody wants and seems very hard to find?
Why would any shop (online or offline) exactly the product that everybody wants at almost any price, reduce it heavily, exactly when everybody is looking for gifts ?
This is against market’s rule no. 1: Offer vs. Demand. If the Demand is high, and the Offer is low, then the price goes high, not down.
- the discount is waaaaayyy too big to miss
Think about why is the discount is so high. Can it be that probably nobody wants to buy that product? Or was the price artificially increased shortly before so that they have a reason to advertise now?
- you haven’t seen that website/webshop before
Many websites are created just to make a hit and then they disappear immediately after. Fraud and Phishing websites are like this.
- you haven’t bought from that webshop before
While this is not necessarily bad, you should double check the reputation of the website before buying.
- you haven’t checked on the Internet reviews about that webshop Think of Trustpilot.com ..
If there is no review about a website, then probably it is too new. Maybe you should look somewhere else…
- you are being requested to give your personal details, card or bank PIN number
Webshops use normally some classical card processors that are well known. If the webshop do this by themselvels, doubt check them to make sure they are legitim.
© Copyright 2021 Sorin Mustaca, All rights Reserved. Written For: Sorin Mustaca on Cybersecurity
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