If online businesses and financial institutions are implementing increasingly effective protection mechanisms to secure payments, there are some basic precautions to take to avoid falling on a fake site or to protect your banking data cybercriminals. For online shopping this is important now.
- Check the details of the merchant
There areE-mail, home office mailing address, telephone number, registration number in your country. Check if the contact details are reliable.
- Control the reputation of the company
Whether on the site of the merchant or on the forums, it is easy to check the quality of online services via comments and ratings (ratings) made by other users.
- Review the terms and conditions of sale
The general conditions of sale (means of payment, delivery, return, refund) or the quality of the customer service could be different from those you know when you make your purchases in the trade of “street”.
Before you buy, check:
- If the shipping and return charges are clearly indicated.
- If your card will be debited before or after delivery.
- If you can follow the route of your package, from purchase to delivery.
- If you have a warranty on the delivered products.
- If you can return the product if it is defective or does not meet your expectations.
- Protect your privacy
Check that the company is transparent about the processing of your data. Most trusted e-shops also have a quality label such as, for example, the label, the Belgian association of companies active in distance selling, the Internet and all other forms of electronic commerce.
- Confirm that the payment method is secure
Make sure that the proposed payment method is secure. The most common security protocol is known as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), a system that establishes a secure (encrypted) communication channel between your computer, smartphone or tablet and the merchant site. After an authentication step (with a card reader, for example), it decrypts the client data and divides it into unusable information by anyone who intercepts it.
What are the clues that prove that you are entering a secure page?
Your browser should inform you (it depends on the settings you have defined), by displaying a padlock for example.
- Check the online shopping insurance
Most credit cards offer online shopping delivery insurance. This insurance can intervene when the article:
- Is not delivered.
- Is delivered but damaged.
- Does not match the description made online.
- Beware of emails or calls asking for your bank details
It may be an attempt to fraud, known as phishing for:
You extract confidential information such as your password, your secret code, the number of your bank card or identity card.
Make payments from your account using “stolen” information.
A purchase is never made by e-mail
Recognizing a fake website remains difficult. Cyber criminals sometimes get ready for months. They can recreate a complete website, have a home address. If, during the purchase, you have to go through an “intermediate step” saying that a “confirmation e-mail” has been sent to you and that to finalize the transaction, you must click on the link found there. Run away.A payment is never made by e-mail.
Check regularly if you are well protected
Do not hesitate to consult our security pages to check whether you take all the necessary precautions when browsing the internet, whether via your smartphone, tablet or computer.