Avoid scams during Cyber Monday sales!
The Cyber Monday scam is an outcome of excited shoppers who get attracted easily by exclusive deals and offers by scammers. Cyber Monday is a great online shopping event that offers a budget-friendly and convenient way to do shopping.
Cyber Monday offers deals especially online and is popular for those shoppers who have missed deals in the Black Friday shopping event. It is also popular for online shoppers who feel too lazy to do in-store shopping, even if there will be exclusive deals in-store as compared to online.
People from all over the world participate in this shopping event. It is estimated that more than 200 million shoppers took advantage of exclusive deals in 2023. Its popularity is rising every year.
However, the sudden growth in online shopping popularity comes with an increase in cyber threats. Scammers, in their different ways, always look for their prey. In this article, we will learn about avoiding scams during Cyber Monday.
Trusted Website
You prefer to stick to popular and trusted brands, which is an easy way to avoid Cyber Monday scams. If you are shopping at a new site, then you need to be aware of your payment methods, customer reviews, their reliability, and too-good-to-be-true offers.
Before shopping on a new site, make sure to read their terms and conditions, privacy policies, return policies, and so on. Trusted brands always offer their valid contact numbers and email addresses. Never forget this tip to get into the trap.
HTTPs
Always ensure the website’s URL has https and the letters s at the end. “S” stands for secure. It is equally important because it makes your payment method and other details secure, which you could not afford to be intercepted by scammers.
Also, try not to save your credit card and debit card details wherever they ask to stay safe. Although there are many shoppers who get irritated to enter the same details again and again. But at least it ensures safety.
Suspicious Ads or Emails
Cyber Monday scams include suspicious ads and emails that you do not need to click. These are used to trick shoppers so that by mistake they can provide their personal information. To stay safe, you can double-check the sender’s email address and visit the official website of the retailer.
Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are a popular method to steal your personal information. Fake emails or texts that appear to be sent by the branded organization. They help you update your order details or payment information.
They appear convincing, along with malicious links. Always double-check these emails and go to their official website in case they have any. If you feel suspicious, it better be unanswered and neglected.
Secure Payment Methods
Secure payment methods like PayPal, debit, credit, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Afterpay, BNPL, digital wallets, Escrow services, and Klarna usually offer fraud protection. Try to avoid using bank transfers or wire services as they are non-reversible.
Unrealistic Prices
It’s true shoppers keep track of the price on every site to get better deals. But if an item is 100 dollars and somewhere you are getting it for 30 dollars is unrealistic.
Sometimes you will get the real product for 30 dollars, which was 100 dollars, but scammers do that to take out your payment details for future use. Therefore, unclick on the unrealistic items during Cyber Monday.
Read Return and Refund Policies
Return and refund policies always differ in terms of Black Friday and Cyber Monday from the general return and refund policies that are available on the site. So not only do you need to stay away from scammers, but you also need to make yourself informed about the brand return policies during these huge shopping events.
Reading these policies gives you an idea that the item you purchased during Cyber Monday is refundable or not. It also offers you whether the brand is trustworthy, as generally scammers offer vague information in these return policies. Thirdly, based on these readings, you are capable of purchasing items with informed decisions.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds another layer of security, which you can enable wherever possible. It will ask you to verify your authority through the second method, which is difficult for scammers even if your login credentials are compromised.
You will receive OTP in your provided mobile number, which is impossible for scammers to log in. Therefore, 2FA is an extremely powerful method.
CTAs
You will find innumerable CTAs that could sound like this.
- Act now before the offer expires!
- Congratulations! You’ve won a prize!
- Limited-time deal – don’t miss out!
- Verify your account to avoid suspension.
- We noticed unusual activity on your account.
- Exclusive offer – just for you!
- Click here to claim your reward!
- Your payment couldn’t be processed – update your details.
- Get rich quickly—start earning today!
This list of CTAs is written in a catchy way to make shoppers take action. But do not click as they could contain malicious links by cybercriminals.
Monitor Your Bank Statements
It is recommended to keep track of your bank statement for unusual changes. If you spot anything different and suspicious, you can report it to your bank or card issuer immediately. Several banks help you with fraud detection services also.
The Takeaway
The Cyber Monday scam takes its shape during the weeks of Cyber Monday every year. This scam is gaining popularity, and therefore, it’s the responsibility of the shopper to stay alert before performing any action online.
You can follow the above-mentioned practical steps and protect yourself from becoming a victim of any fraud. Safe and happy shopping.
Need Assistance?
If you need any help regarding this upcoming biggest shopping event, Black Friday 2024, you can get in touch with our professionals.
Apart from that, our experts are also experienced with Magento, WooCommerce, UX/UI, SEO, WooCommerce plugins, online store development, PCK POS, Google Analytics, Google Ads campaigns, WooCommerce page speed, Black Friday, Magento SEO, WordPress, cart abandonment, Black Friday Online vs. In-store, Neranix for Christmas 2024, and so on.
