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Shopping and paying safely online

Online shopping is a great way to compare prices, find bargains and save money from anywhere with an internet or mobile data connection.

Online shopping safety tips

These are some really simple ways to shop safely online you can use every day:

  1. Research retailers online to make sure they’re legitimate.
  2. Make sure the website is secure.
  3. Know your rights and the company’s returns policy.
  4. Keep software and virus protection up-to-date and use strong passwords for online accounts.
  5. Don’t use public Wi-Fi. Your standard data connection is more secure.
  6. Pay using a credit card. You will have more protection. Alternatively, online services like PayPal mean scammers will not be able to get hold of your bank details.
  7. Be smart. If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is

    How to shop safely online

    Research the website and seller

    There are thousands of websites to go shopping on the internet, many with thousands more independent sellers. The majority of these are perfectly legitimate, but spotting the fraudulent ones takes a bit of research.

    Returns and counterfeiting. There is also a large online market for selling counterfeit goods. These can be hard to spot, even when you’ve got the product in your hand. But being aware of this and researching what the real thing would cost, will give you an idea of when an offer is too good to be true.

    How you can tell if a website is secure

    Only ever put your card details into secure websites. Be on the look-out for the following signs to know you are shopping safely. Remember, this only means the site is secure, not that the seller is honest.
    Padlock symbol – There should be a padlock in the address bar next to the website address.
    Website address – This should start with https://. The S stands for secure
    Green address bar – On certain browsers and websites the address bar will turn green.
    Valid certificate – If you click the padlock symbol or just to the left of the address bar, you should see information on the site certificate. This should tell you who has registered the site. If you get a warning about a certificate, avoid the website.

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