How do you make sure you that the site you have chosen to purchase your Christmas gifts or playing casino games is a trustworthy one? What your rituals and habits do you apply before investing your cash and time? Springing Rock Salt in a circular motion around the base of your computer or laptop may help you get rid of negative vibes, but it won’t chase scammers away. Luckily, here we share a few reliable signs which you can check for yourself when doubting your traditional means. So, is this site a scam or not? There lies the answer.
Padlock
The first sign is a very obvious one that you may have or not have noticed until now. The lock, just before the https:// link lying on the address bar of your online shopping page indicates that the website protects your private data such as password and credit card details. If you select the icon, you may even learn the name of the company certifying the web page.
Google Safe Browsing
Opening pages through Google Chrome and Mozilla (does anyone even remember this one?) may keep you away from online threats. Google Safe Browsing is activated by dangerous websites and links. Thus, it is warning you for malicious elements when landing on the webpage or before opening a suspiciously stinking file which you as a human cannot detect at first sniff.
Third-Party Audits
If you open an online casino, you will notice that at the sheer bottom of the webpage are exposed various external authorities such as the Gambling Commission Logo, Certificate Testers of the games and perhaps the name of the anti-virus software protecting the website. However, if you are shopping at Sainsbury’s online, how do you make sure their website is secure without any logos? One way is to verify the terms & conditions section whether there is something mentioned about your data safety and privacy. If the company had missed to include this information that may be a red flag. Moreover, companies are currently legally obliged to reform the way they handle online data according to EU laws.
History
Taking your search further, you can check the history of the company that owns the website at Google or at least find out the company’s reference details, address, current offices and financial data at gov.uk. Can you see a contact phone number, or another mean like email form/live chat of getting in touch with the retailer? Then, give them a call and see if they have knowledge about a specific goods/requirement.
Copycat Websites
The idea of copycat sites is that they offer same online services as some governmental and local institutions for a higher price. The case also could be like buying concert tickets for a hot-event in town tonight. Often, knowing the name of the official re-seller/provider can help a lot when seeking to escape the copycat trap. How to know if you are on the official website? You will usually find out that government sites have gov.co.uk ending domains. Moreover, you will see the logo symbol of the department/agency and the prices will be less costly. If you have been scammed, you can report to the government/local authorities the untrustworthy website and contact them for a refund.
Hoping that this article provides helpful information about how to distinguish fraudulent websites from the dependable ones.
Best Luck in Your Search,
Paudio’s Team XX