SECURE SHOPPING

Signs that an Online Shopping Site is Secure

Here are signs that the website you want to buy from is secure:

1. No pop-up ads.
Be very careful about clicking on realistic-looking retail ads that pop up on your screen while you surf the Web, Pop-ups often don’t take you to a website at all, but rather to a phony operation designed to steal your personal information. Meanwhile, most reputable retailers don’t use pop-ups: they know that customers strongly dislike them and that using them may turn customers away.

2. No unsolicited email.
Reputable online retailers don't send you solicitations via email unless you specifically signed up to get information from them or their partners. Be especially suspicious of unsolicited email from seemingly reputable sites like PayPal, eBay, or national banks -- many of them are from “spoof sites,” sites meant to fool you into giving personal information by mimicking other sites you may do business with. You can always contact the name-brand retailer separately or by phone to check if the email was authentic.

3. Other shoppers had good experiences.

4. The site has a physical address or phone number.
If they do, that's a good sign that the business is for real. Reputable companies will post their location and phone number so you can get in touch with them if there’s a problem.

5. There is a return policy.
Reputable sites will spell out their return policy, including their shipping policies. If you can’t find this information on the site, shop elsewhere.

6. Prices aren't too low to believe.
Everyone likes a bargain, but be wary of sites that offer products like software or music for prices that are far lower than those for the same product from any other merchant.

7. Credit cards are accepted or offers Paypal.
Credit cards give you more protection than a debit card does. This is important if the wrong person gets your account number, reputable sites will accept a variety of credit cards. That's a good sign that they are legitimate, because they had to apply to the leading card issuing companies for approval. Suspicious sites may ask for checks or debit card numbers - be wary.

8. The site has a privacy statement.
Reputable sites will tell you how they protect your personal information and secure your credit-card data and whether they sell information about their customers to other companies. This is a disclosure statement and you should consider whether you feel comfortable with a retailer’s policy before buying.

Using Secure PayPal Service
We offer an alternative secure payment service via PayPal at no cost to the customer. PayPal is a popular secure payment service that maintains high standards of security and assurance levels to protect both the customer and the merchant from security threats to payment accounts and credit card details. We take our responsibilities and obligations to protect the personal information of its customers very seriously. We offer the Paypal Service in order to provide a safe and secure shopping environment for our customers.

For more information on PayPal, please visit the PayPal website.

If you have a question or concern regarding the security of your personal information or payment details, please contact us.