Some eagerly anticipated online sales events are right around the corner and while you might be enticed to hit add to cart next week, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Mainland BC and Yukon is reminding us how to be savvy and safe consumers. "We've all been guilty of jumping on a deal and quickly hitting that add to cart button," said BBB spokesperson Neesha Hothi. "Online shopping can be incredibly convenient, but it can also be misleading.
There are many fraudulent websites, emails and ads found online that mimick popular online retailers with the sole intent to take your money. Over a third (36.9 per cent) of all reported scams on BBB Scam Tracker in 2023 were online purchase scams, which is the largest single scam type reported in Canada.
We don't want any more Canadians to join that statistic.” Top five tips to be a savvy online shopper Verify customer reviews Does a product rating seem too good to be true with five stars across the board? Be careful. Scammers are present on all platforms and frequently post positive reviews on their pages, either copied from legitimate sites or created by bots.
Ensure you check a variety of sources for reviews to get a fuller picture. Ensure you check a trusted resource for reviews such as BBB.org , where customer reviews are vetted before they are posted.
Use traceable payment methods such as credit cards Most financial institutions offer fraud protection with the use of their credit cards, so it’s more likely you’ll be ab.