Better Business Bureau Offers Cyber Monday Advice for Online Shoppers
Cyber Monday may be the year’s second biggest shopping day next to Black Friday in recent years.
However, the Internet-based version of Black Friday can be somewhat risky with hackers looking to steal account numbers for credit and debit cards along with shoppers receiving unwanted spam and advertisements.
The Better Business Bureau recently offered tips for customers looking to avoid trouble while conducting their Cyber Monday shopping.
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The first tip given by BBB is for shoppers to protect their computers by having the most recent updates installed for spam filters, antivirus and anti-spyware software and a secure firewall.
The second tip is for shoppers to only use trustworthy websites by checking out reputation and records for customer satisfaction with the Better Business Bureau. Customers are urged to look for the BBB seal and other widely recognized “Trustmarks” before choosing to shop somewhere.
The next tip given is for customers to protect their personal information by taking the time to read the website’s privacy policy and understand what personal information is being requested and how it will be used. If a website does not have one, then it should be taken as a red flag that personal information may be sold to others without permission.
BBB also urged customers to beware of any deals that sound “too good to be true.” Hard to get items with low price tags are usually a bad sign if similar deals cannot be found anywhere else.
It also tells customers to beware of phishing, explaining that legitimate businesses do not send emails claiming problems with an order or an account to lure the buyer into revealing more financial information.
If a shopper receives this type of email then they should immediately contact the place they bought the item from with the phone number on the website to confirm that there was a problem with the product.
Other tips are also given by BBB include confirming that an online purchase is secure, always paying with a credit card, keeping documentation for purchases and checking credit card statements often.
