Top tips to avoid scams online.

Albus_Scope

Heya folks!

As there's a big online shopping day coming up, I thought I'd share some top tips to avoid those pesky scammers and keep you all a bit safer online.    

-Email links.
Scammers are getting very good at making emails look very official these days.  But there's a few ways of making sure the link you have is safe to click.
Hover your mouse over the link for a few seconds. Does it link to the actual website in question? 
If you're unsure, it's always safest to manually go to the website and check the offers that way.
 
-Is the email actually from the provider?
Always check who the email is from.  Check other emails from them in your inbox and always be on the look out for scammers changing letters that look similar.  Is 'Amazon' spelled with an 'o' or a '0'?  These can be big give aways! 

-Check the website address.
Always check that the start of the website starts with https;// and not just http://  it's a simple thing, but that 's' shows that the website in question is secure and encrypted.  If you're shopping on Amazon, double check you're on the official site, or app. Again, look out for odd letters in the name. They can be very sneaky. 

-Verify your account messages.
This is a big one at the moment.  The scammers will send you an official looking email, asking you to click a link to 'verify your account details' This is known as 'Phishing'  Whatever you do, do not click the link or give out any of your details.  Websites will never email asking for this information.
    Other messages may say you need to update your payment method or billing information.  Again, don't click or reply.  If there's an issue, check the actual website and contact customer services if you're unsure. 

-Texts.
Another way scammers will try to get you is through texts.  Often pretending to be royal mail saying your item needs paying for.  Again, check where the message is coming from.  If it looks like a normal mobile number, it'll be a scammer. So block their number. 

-2-step authentication.
This is your best friend and I recommend having this active on any site that gives you the option.  I know it can be a bit fiddly setting up at first, but it really can save your bank account.  

-How to pay?
Use a credit card if possible, as it may be easier to get your money back if something goes wrong. If you don’t have a credit card, online services like PayPal can protect your bank details. 

-Be skeptical. 
If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.  
When in doubt, check. 


I know there's a lot of jargon in there and it may seem a bit confusing.  So if you have any questions, or need any help, feel free to comment here and we can do our best to help you.

Do you have any top tips to add? Let us know! 

Lottie1732

My top tip. Never, never, never pay an invoice for a service or product you have purchased that contains bank details UNTIL you have called the sender and asked them to read out their bank details to you.  Email is not safe and emailed invoices can be intercepted and the bank details changed.  (same with an invoice in the post).  

When you call them, use a phone number you already have, not one showing on the invoice.

If you pay and the invoice has been intercepted the fraudster will have your money. Then the fraudulent bank account will be closed and the account holder will disappear. You'll still have to pay the genuine supplier.  Banks are better now at helping customers avoid this but it can still happen. 

Albus_Scope

Excellent one there @Lottie1732!  I had several (very official looking) invoices from a Paypal scammer.  Luckily I went to the Paypal website manually to check first!