The risks of shopping and online auctions

As with anything you do online, any time you provide details like your email address, shipping address, phone number and credit card information, your information becomes prey for cyber criminals.

What are the risks of online shopping?

• Becoming a victim of fake e-commerce sites. These are sites created with the sole purpose of capturing your information which can lead to identity theft and hacking. Often these sites will offer an incredible deal that’s hard to pass up, and then disappear a few weeks later.
• Becoming a victim of a scam or fraud by unscrupulous sellers who never send the item you’ve purchased.
• Dealing with fraudulent escrow sites set up to capture your information.
• Doing business on sites that aren’t encrypted which can leave your information open to anyone.
• Scams by international sites that aren’t secure or don’t have reputable sellers.
• Paying more than you expected because of hidden charges, duties or shipping.
• The item you buy may not meet Canadian Safety Standards. There are different rules for different countries.

What are the risks of online auction?

• Becoming a victim of a scam by sellers who are not reputable.
• Getting lured by sellers to send payment outside of legitimate services like Paypal, including sending cash, money transfers and money orders.
• Becoming a victim of fraud including the misrepresentation of an item, the item not being sent to you or not being paid if you’re the seller.
• You might find yourself dealing with fraudulent escrow sites that take your money – and run. Legitimate escrow sites make payments on your behalf to safeguard large-ticket purchases. But criminals behind escrow scams create fake escrow sites intended to spoof — or look identical to — the real thing.  Before you know it, you’re making a payment to a criminal out to steal your money.

Getting stuck by browser traps that won’t allow you to click the back button, or the same window continues to pop up after closing it.

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