Ways to Avoid Online Shopping Scams in Pakistan

Online shopping can be a great place to find super saving deals and discounts; however it can easily lead to rip offs as well especially in third world countries like Pakistan where not sufficient laws exist regarding cyber crimes. With internet fraud on the rise in Pakistan, it serves best that people should be made aware of some necessary precautions so that people can prevent themselves from increasing fraudulent online practices in Pakistan.

Here are some measures that can be taken to avoid online shopping scams.

1.     Avoid Suspicious Websites:

There are a large number of Pakistani e commerce websites joining online shopping bandwagon, however, any online retail website that doesn’t have a coherent and efficient structural framework and/or has a lot of pop-ups should not be considered safe.  To stay safe, stick with big-name retailers and top brands and make payment only through familiar payment systems, such as PayPal and Moneygram.

2.     Don’t Click on Hyperlinks in E-mails

A common scam involves sending emails that ask the recipient to click on a hyperlink or open an attachment and then enter personal information, such as bank account numbers. It is recommended that you don’t open such links and never give your personal information over the internet in any case.

3.     Be Cautions of Smartphone Shopping

 Mobile devices have made online shopping more convenient and flexible, but they often lack protections such as anti-virus software and stealing of confidential information. Consider avoiding entering your payment information via smartphones; the only time you should consider doing this is when using big retailers’ apps, which often come with extra security.

4.     Don’t Give Out CNIC Number

There are many fraudulent online shopping websites that will ask you for CNIC number; always beware of such websites and make sure you don’t publish this information anywhere online, including discussion forums and emails.

5.     Use Strong Passwords

Online shopping sites often ask for passwords at checkouts. Using the same password across multiple accounts, including financial accounts, can leave you at risk for password break-ins. Also, make sure your password isn’t simple enough to be guessed by friends/acquaintances. For important accounts, use only secure passwords that are long and difficult to guess.

6.     Returns and Exchanges

Before purchasing anything at a new website, always check their return and refund policy. Currently there are many online shopping sites in Pakistan such as Kaymu in Pakistan which offer returns and exchange policies which can be seen at Kaymu Safepay. Do bother to read those return and exchange terms before making any online transactions and also checkout the time limit in which purchased products are returnable.