Millions will be spent online in the lead up to Christmas - but scammers, as well as some sellers, will be looking to take advantage of busy shoppers
It may be a relatively recent import from the US, but 'Black Friday' now marks the start of the festive shopping period in Ireland too.
And that presents them with far more opportunities to catch people off-guard, and swipe a bit – or maybe even a lot - of money out of their victims’ bank accounts.We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.
And even if it has that, don’t enter your card details when you’re using a public connection, like the free wifi you’d get in a café or shopping centre. Traffic over these links is far easier to intercept, or for scammers to manipulate in some form. They're not flawless but review sites can often give you a good indication of how reliable a site is – so check Google reviews, Trustpilot, and Amazon reviews if they apply.But an alternative is to check social media to see what people are saying about the service in question.
And then, of course, there’s the ultimate red flag – if the deal is too good to be true, sadly, it probably is. That means that, when they text saying ‘there’s an issue with your delivery’, there’s a far higher chance the recipient will think it’s genuine and follow the dodgy instructions. Then go, find the official number and make the call yourself, or go into a branch if that suits you better.But if it’s a scam, you’ll know straight away by the way the person on the other end reacts. They might try to convince you not to hang up, or they might just cut you off the second you show any suspicion.Retailers know this is an important time of year for their business, but it’s also extremely competitive. And, so, some will use a few tricks to get you to spend your money with them.
Maybe they’re advertising a discount on a product – but the discount may not be as amazing as they suggest. Sometimes that’s because they briefly sold the product at the ‘before’ price, just so they could claim to have slashed it in the sale. They might do this by telling you that there are only a few items left in stock – or that 10 other people have this item in their shopping baskets.
Of course it is possible that the site is time-limiting a discount – or maybe it really does only have a few items left in stock. But the important thing is that you don’t let these things bounce you into a purchase that you haven’t planned to make. Ultimately the only way to be sure that you’ll avoid customs charges is to buy from a retailer with operations in the European Union – but the problem is that it’s not always easy to tell.
Unfortunately it’s again up to the consumer to do the research – and check where the company’s registered office is. The product needs to be in the same condition that it was in when it was shipped by the retailer – and they have a right to refuse it if they can show it’s been damaged or used.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Christmas spending: 3 tips to avoid a financial hangover, according to a financial advisor | IMAGE.ieMany of us get paid earlier ahead of Christmas, but this just means the December/ January period becomes a five or even a six-week month. How do we turn Christmas into a financial success rather than a debt causing disaster?
Read more »
WIN: Treat yourself this Christmas to a Luxurious Christmas Hamper from The Nude Wine CompanyWIN: Treat yourself this Christmas to a Premium Luxury Wine Collection from The Nude Wine Company worth €330
Read more »
Germany to avoid disciplinary action over covered mouths protest at World CupThe OneLove group are looking at their legal options over the FIFA decision to block them wearing the rainbow-coloured bands.
Read more »