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UR IT Magazine February 2016

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~ PASSWORDS AND CRED<strong>IT</strong> CARD<br />

INFORMATION ~<br />

It is a general rule to never share your passwords<br />

with anyone. Additionally, you must ensure<br />

that you use different passwords for different<br />

sites and store this information in a secret<br />

spot for reference. The logic behind this is the<br />

fact that credit cards and online payments<br />

services details are in some cases attached<br />

to the vendor websites. Should you share your<br />

password with anyone, they can use your<br />

credit card information retrieved from your<br />

account to make unauthorized purchases.<br />

~ KEEP CHECKING ON BEST DISCOUNTS ~<br />

Online shopping gives you the liberty to make<br />

extensive price comparisons and ensure that<br />

you only get the best deals. A wise shopper<br />

always researches on different merchants selling<br />

the target product at the best price. It should<br />

be noted however, that the best deal is not only<br />

reflected by price. There are other factors to<br />

consider such as quality.<br />

This rule also applies to your credit card<br />

information, which must be kept as private<br />

as possible and only reveal when necessary.<br />

It is extremely prudent to always monitor your<br />

credit card transaction details with your bank<br />

in order to spot unauthorized use as soon as it<br />

happens.<br />

~ POLICIES ~<br />

Online shoppers get disappointed especially<br />

when a dispute is settled in an unexpected<br />

manner. Most of the time, shoppers are at fault<br />

for not reading merchant policies especially on<br />

refunds and product returns. Some merchants<br />

set a specific timeline for buyers to claim a<br />

refund while others have a no-return policy on<br />

already sold items.<br />

~ SEC<strong>UR</strong>E WEBS<strong>IT</strong>ES ~<br />

Money launders enjoy an open field of crime<br />

via online shopping platforms. Shoppers are<br />

advised to only use secured websites, whose<br />

<strong>UR</strong>Ls start with https instead of http. Scammers<br />

also post malicious adverts and circulate<br />

them via emails which hackers use for their<br />

phishing activities. You should ensure that<br />

you only directly visit a merchant’s website,<br />

update or fill in personal information within the<br />

secure site and avoid clicking on emails from<br />

unknown senders.<br />

~ PLAY <strong>IT</strong> SAFE ~<br />

Online transactions rely heavily on trusting an<br />

unseen person as opposed to physically visiting<br />

a shop. This means that chances of getting a<br />

bad deal are higher than normal. There have<br />

been cases of people who complained that<br />

what they bought was not what they received.<br />

Cash on Delivery (COD) option is therefore the<br />

safest mode of payment because it allows you<br />

to only pay for a product once you have seen it<br />

and evaluated it.<br />

Online shopping was established for your<br />

convenience therefore you should make it<br />

work for you. This however is not automatic and<br />

requires you to put in effort in terms of research,<br />

reading customer reviews and utilizing safe<br />

practices that will make it effective for you.<br />

Article By: Vivian Achieng<br />

66<br />

HOW TO MAKE ONLINE FASHION SHOPPING PROMOEFFECTIVE FOR YOU<br />

7

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