E-Commerce

We understand that the purpose of e-commerce is to purchase products and services online. E-commerce brings a lot of convenience to the world as well as cons.

After reviewing the blog, we know that there are a lot of victims made online transactions and get cheated. While the internet users are trying to identify theft and phishing, other types of online fraud continue to proliferate.

Before learning how to protect ourselves from these frauds, we need to identity the common forms of online fraud being perpetrated today. They are as followed:

1. Auction fraud
2. Goods not delivered
3. Bogus money offers
4. Bad checks for services or goods
5. Work-at-home plans and pyramid schemes
6. False loans or credit help for a fee
7. Charity frauds
8. Fake government grants

Thus, how we protect ourselves from online fraud??

There are some common tips here to guide us to protect ourselves from being cheated, they are >>

1. Don’t do business with an organization you can’t verify or don’t trust.

2. Check with your consumer protection agency and Better Business Bureau for outstanding complaints.

3. Confirm contact details, including physical addresses, phone numbers, and localities of incorporation. Don’t do business with organizations that won’t freely provide this information.

4. Understand all the rules of an auction before bidding.

5. Confirm an auction sellers’ track record and contact details before bidding on their item.

6. Avoid buying collectible or one-of-a-kind items in an online auction. If you can’t inspect it beforehand, how do you know it’s the real thing?

7. Don’t send cash or use wire transfers to pay for online goods, services, or auction items.

8. Insist on a cashier’s check for the exact amount of goods or services you’ve sold over the Internet. Never deposit a check you’ve received for amounts exceeding the price you’ve negotiated.

9. Even if you’re familiar with a charity, call the organization to confirm their online request before making a donation.

10. Use good judgment when responding to offers of easy money. If the offer appears too good to be true, it probably is.

11. Be wary of unsolicited requests for upfront fees from lenders, government agencies, or other organizations.

12. Make all online transactions with credit cards over secure Web sites. Even if you’ve done your due diligence and decided to transact business with someone, you should still pay the safest way.

http://www.symantec.com/norton/products/library/article.jsp?aid=internet_fraud_prevention

We can always see online fraud happens around the world. E-commerce brought benefits but also brought harms. Hence, we need to have some general knowledge of some of the common types of fraud in order to know how to protect ourselves. With caution, common sense, and awareness we can keep our finances secure.