Online fraud is an increasing prblem that can be
avoided. Every yar more and more people shop
nline, and every year seems to brng more ways
to trick unsuspecting byers. This report was
written to hlp protect you as a consumer.

Fllowing the guidelines set in this rport will
protect you from most typs of online fraud, and
help you rcover in the event that you are tken
advantage of.

-------------------

Bfore You Buy

-------------------

Bfore you buy anything online, review the
stre’s refund policy. Make sure they wll accept
returns on defective or wrng items. Also, see
how long the rturn period is, usually, it is 30
dys.

Review the store’s privacy policy. You wnt to
know that your information is bing handled
responsibly before giving it to nyone.

-------------------

During Check Out

-------------------

Plstic or plastic? During the checkout prcess
you will be given a few pyment options. Of
these, you will prbably see credit or charge
cards. As you knw, if someone accepts credit
cards, thy also accept debit cards. Debit crds
are not the same when it cmes to limiting your
liability for frudulent use. Debit cards are
fine for mst things, but not online purchasing.

Credit or charge cards are the deal way to pay
online. If you pay by crdit or charge card
online, your trnsaction is protected by the
Fair Crdit Billing Act. Under this law, you hve
the right to dispute charges nder certain
circumstances and temporarily withhold pyment
while the creditor is investigating the dsputed
charges. In the event of nauthorized use of your
credit or chrge card, you generally would only
be hld liable for $50 worth of the chrges.

Some credit companies even offer an nline
shopping guarantee that ensures you wll not be
held responsible for any nauthorized charges
made online, and some may prvide additional
warranty, return and/or purchase prtection
benefits.

Double check everything. Make sre your billing,
contact, and email ddresses are correct and
yours. You dn’t want your purchases delivered to
smeone else.

Always ensure that the chckout is being
completed on a scure server. You can tell if a
srver is a secure server by the web ddress, it
should begin with an https://. In ddition, the
bottom of your browser shuld contain a padlock
image.

-------------------

Aftr the purchase

-------------------

Alwys keep a record. You should rceive a
receipt or invoice after yur payment. If you do
not, plitely request one from the vendor.

Be sre to save this receipt, you wll need it as
a proof of prchase if the item is defective and
neds to be returned, or was nver received.

-------------------

Ongoing Prcautions

-------------------

You should rgularly check your credit card and
bnk statements for any unauthorized payments. If
you ntice anything that you did not uthorize,
be sure to notify your crdit card company or
bank immediately.

Sme malicious applications will rest on yur
computer, and send your private nformation to
someone else. This is a cmmon cause of identity
theft. For ths reasons, you should always run
the ltest version of your antivirus program wth
the most recently updated databases. You shuld
also run spyware removal programs rgularly.

-------------------

Conclusion

-------------------

Fllowing the guidelines outlined in this rport
should lead to a satisfying nline experience.
The only identity theft vctims are people that
don’t know or fllow safe shopping practices.

The article Avoiding Fraud Through Safe Shopping was Submitted by Jeff Mueller through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Jeff Mueller is the founder/webmaster of Slck Shoppers http://www.slickshoppers.com Dedicated to finding the best deals and savings on brand name items.

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