Liberty-Eylau ISD

SHOPPING ONLINE

Shopping online is convenient, easy, quick and it allows you to purchase things that you may not be able to find in local stores.  However, shopping on the internet raises risks that you would not normally see in a conventional walk-in business so you should take steps to make sure your online transactions are secure.

Research the seller before you buy.

Anyone can pretend to be a business on the internet and this is where phishers get the most prey.  Always check for a phone number, physical address, and e-mail address before you consider buying from a seller you've never done business with before.  Look for feedback information from other customers--most legitimate businesses will display information like this somewhere on their websites.  If there is none, use Google and search 'feedback + the company name' or 'fraud + the company name' and see if you get any results.

Make certain the site is secure.

Before you type in any financial or personal information on the website, make sure that the site is secure.  You should see a padlock icon, which will be at the bottom, right-hand corner of your web browser or in the URL field as well as the URL beginning with https, where the s stands for secure.  If you are putting in any sort of confidential information on your computer, there should always be a secure connection with https present in your URL.  If you don't see this then the seller is most likely not legitimate and you do not want to use it.

Prices, Returns, Refunds, & Other Policies.

When you know that the seller is legitimate, make sure that you know all of the policies for the website before you purchase anything. 

Does your state have sales tax? Regardless of where the seller is located, you will be charged by the terms of the state with which you live in.  

Does the site offer returns/refunds? If you return it, who pays the shipping costs or the restocking fees, and when will you get your refunded money or new order if you are exchanging the item?

What is the policy for shipping? A Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule requires sellers to ship items as promised or within 30 days after the order date if no specific date is promised.

Pay by credit card.

If you pay by credit or charge card online, your transaction will be protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act. Under this law, you can dispute charges under certain circumstances and temporarily withhold payment while the creditor investigates them. In the event that someone uses your credit card without your permission, some companies guarantee that you won’t be held responsible for any unauthorized charges made to your card online. 

Keep records.

Print or save records of your online transactions, including the product description and price, the online receipt and the emails you exchange with the seller.  Read over your credit card statements and make sure that there are no charges on them that you do not recognize.

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