There are so many scams out there preying on us these days, and many of them are targeting our online shopping. Now that it’s back to school time, if you’re shopping for supplies, returning items online, or just participating in some online retail therapy regardless of the time of year, here are a few tips to help identify fraudulent shopping websites and how to avoid giving up your personal information, whether it’s your payment card details, your address, or any other bit of PII that a cybercriminal may find useful.
- Check the URL of the website before doing anything. It’s best to do this before clicking any ads or links. Hover over it with your mouse or hold your finger down for a few seconds to reveal the link. If it’s really long, full of junk, or doesn’t make sense at all, don’t click it. It may be legit, but better to err on the side of caution.
- If a shop you’ve never heard of catches your eye, do some additional investigation. See if the goods are sold elsewhere and check reviews. If you can’t find much, that may be a clue to move on.
- If you’re already shopping on a site and popups keep appearing asking for payment details WHILE you’re shopping, that could be an indicator of a fake. Additionally, if it says your payment was declined when you don’t expect it to be, don’t re-enter another card. Contact your financial institution and make sure they didn’t block it. There is a scam that performs just this trick.
- Zoom in and check the images. If they’re blurry, you could be looking at a phony site.
- If the customer service link is a link to nowhere, don’t trust it.
Keep in mind that when you’re online shopping, criminals are shopping for your payment card and other information. Stay ahead of them by checking and rechecking the websites you’re shopping on and don’t let them start your school year off with a failing grade!
Want to know more? Read additional Mid Oregon blog articles about online security and fraud protection.
By: Jim Stickley and Tina Davis
August 3, 2025