Protect yourself from online shopping scams and dodgy websites

These days you can buy just about anything on line but unfortunately that also opens doors for scammers and dodgy websites, so how can you be sure if the business is genuine and the website safe?

A few tips to help keep you safe:

1. If it sounds like too good an offer to be true it usually is so use your common sense and don't be lured by unbelievable offers without checking them out first


2. Check that the website has proper terms and conditions and refund policies (ours are on the bottom menu at www.errine.com.au ) and look for any hidden clauses in small print, sometimes there can be hidden costs in amongst the small print (not ours) so read carefully.


3. Check the websites credentials such as do they have an Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number listed on their website (ours is on the bottom menu). You can check that it's genuine at the Australian Government Business website. You can see the ABN for www.errine.com.au on the very bottom menu bar and check at abr.business.gov.au


4. Look for hidden costs in small print, you may sometimes see this symbol * or a number or 'conditions apply' 'next to an offer which indicates there is a footnote somewhere - find the footnote and read it properly.
   
   If the footnote is difficult to find or has so much information you can't be bothered reading it all be careful - conditions should be easy to find, easy to read and easy to understand, typically the footnote should be right underneath the paragraph where it is indicated, or at the bottom of the same page, at Errine Adaptive Clothing customers will see any footnotes directly under the paragraph it is relating to.


5. Look for the level of security (SSL) the website uses when processing your credit cards, SSL encrypts (scrambles) your credit card information so no one can read it, without SSL your credit card details are not encrypted and pass over the server unsecure for anyone to read. The number on the certificate is like saying how strong a password it uses to scramble your credit card details and the industry standard is 128 bit encryption which will take a hacker a trillion years to crack the code. We use 'RapidSSL' with 256 bit encryption which is even more advanced than the industry standard of 128, so you can be sure your details are safe with us.


6. If buying online make sure when you are on the actual checkout page that the address bar starts with https and not just http - the extra 's' means its a secure page, no 's' means its just a regular web page and your credit card details may not be secure. If you are using Internet Explorer you should also see a small locked padlock on the right side of the address bar. See our easy diagram online a www.errine.com.au under the news tab (which you can enlarge by clicking on it) for an easy explanation.


7. Never enter personal information such as your credit card information, address, or bank account information on a website if you are unsure


8. NEVER send credit card information or bank account information through email - a professional business will never ask you to do this as it is not considered safe


9. If you are unsure contact your local office of fair trading, ASIC (asic.gov.au) or the ACCC (accc.gov.au) for help

The Australian Government also has a great website called Scamwatch - it's worth checking out as it has great information about online scams, phone scams and many other types of scams currently happening in Australia.

Further information

Errine Adaptive Clothing

www.errine.com.au

Ph: (03) 6272 0426