By Andrée-Anne Guénette
When an online shopping opportunity seems too good to be true, it might be. Here’s how to avoid scams when shopping online.
With the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, shopping on the Internet is more popular than ever. But who says online shopping also sometimes says the risk of scams. And fraud is expensive for Canadians!
According to the Competition Bureau Canada, Canadians lost over $312 million to fraud between January 2018 and December 2020. Domestically, over 67,000 cases of fraud were reported in 2020. The Competition Bureau However, competition estimates that only 5% of fraud is reported.
How to shop online safely
Sometimes scams are apparent. Sometimes a lot less. So how to avoid them? Here are five tips to follow for your purchases on the Internet.
- Find out about the nature of the product you want to buy.
Is the price in Canadian currency? Is there delivery or brokerage fees if a purchase is made outside the country? These are the questions that it is better to ask yourself before buying the product. - Check that the merchant provides all the information you need.
If this information does not appear anywhere on the site, be careful!
his mailing address
an email address
a phone number to reach customer service
the planned delivery method and date
the exchange, cancellation and refund policy, including possible return costs
- Make sure you shop on secure sites.
A secure site will protect your data. To spot specific areas, just look at the address bar. This should start with “HTTPS://” and include a padlock icon. - Pay by credit card.
This payment method offers you additional protection, facilitating returns and recourse possibilities. If a merchant takes more than 15 days to refund a returned item, you can request chargeback within 60 days. This is impossible if you pay by debit card or third-party payment sites like PayPal.
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- Ask about the merchant or seller.
Check on the website of the Office de la protection du consommateur du Québec if the merchant has already been the subject of complaints, if he has received tickets or if he is registered in the Business Register.
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Be careful with your purchases on classified ad sites
Classified ad sites (Kijiji, LesPAC, Craigslist, etc.) can sometimes save money. However, the Consumer Protection Act (LPC)* Does not apply to purchases between individuals, and you have to be very careful. Sometimes, merchants pose as “false individuals” to escape the laws precisely.
Here are some tips for detecting these “fake individuals”. Let’s take the example of a used car purchase between individuals. (Tips can apply to any purchase.)
An online search reveals that the seller has several listings of cars for sale. This comes out of the possible “garage sale” or moving.
The seller sells the car to a third party. For example, the person who owns the vehicle has had an accident and cannot move.
The seller does not want the meeting to occur at his home but instead at the buyers.
The seller offers to take care of the transfer of ownership himself rather than going with you to the SAAQ office.
Read also :
Tips for creating effective passwords and fighting fraud
Lessons learned from telephone fraud
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