Online scams never give discounts especially during sales periods. For this reason, the Postal Police has drawn up a vademecum for safe online purchases. First of all, use complete and updated software and browsers. It may seem trivial, but the first step to buying safely is to always have a good antivirus updated to the latest version on your computer device. The latest antivirus systems (free or paid) also provide protection when choosing to make purchases on the Internet. For greater online security, it is also necessary to update the browser used to navigate to the latest available version because every day new threats can make it vulnerable. You should then give preference to certified or official sites. You can find great deals online, but when an offer seems too good to match the actual market price of the product you want to buy, it's best to check other sites. It could be a fake or turn out to be a scam. It is advisable to give preference to online stores of large, already well-known chains because, in addition to offering security in terms of payment, they are also reliable with regards to assistance and guarantees on the product purchased and on its shipping. In the case of little-known sites, you can check for the presence of security certificates such as TRUST and VERIFIED / VeriSign Trusted which allow you to validate the reliability of the website. Furthermore, a site (and we are at tip no. 3) must have the same references as a real shop! Before completing your purchase, check that the site provides references such as a VAT number, a landline telephone number, a physical address and additional contact information for the company. A site without such data probably does not want to be traceable and may have something to hide. Tax data can be easily verified on the institutional website of the Revenue Agency. You should then always read the comments and feedback of other buyers. Before purchasing the chosen product, it is good practice to read the "feedback" published by other users on the site that sells it. Is information about the reliability of the site through search engines, forums or social networks also very useful? The "rumors" about a scam site are circulating fast online! On smartphones or tablets, use the official apps of the online stores. If you choose to buy from large online stores, it is advisable to use the official apps of the relevant stores to complete the purchase. This simple trick allows you to avoid the risks of "passing by" or "being directed" to fraudulent sites or clone sites that could capture the financial and personal data entered to complete the purchase. In the sixth point of the guide for safe purchases, the advice to use especially rechargeable credit cards. To complete a purchase transaction, a few data are essential such as card number, card expiration date and address for shipping the goods. If a seller asks for more information, they probably want to take personal information (account number, PIN or password) which, as such, you must jealously guard and not disclose. At the time of completing the purchase, the presence of the closed padlock at the bottom of the page or of "https" in the address bar are further confirmations on the confidentiality of the data entered on the site and the presence of a user protection protocol, or data is encrypted and not shared. Don't fall into the trap of phishing and/or smishing? That is, the trap of those scammers who, through counterfeit emails or text messages, ask you to click on a link in order to reach a trap web page and, by exploiting psychological mechanisms such as urgency or obtaining a personal advantage, will be able to steal personal information such as passwords and credit card numbers for illegal purposes. The Internet address to which these links refer always differs, even if slightly, from the original one. A well-structured announcement (we are at point no. 8) it's more reliable! Read the ad carefully before replying: if it seems too short or provides little information, do not hesitate to ask the seller for more. Ask the seller for more information about the item you want to buy and if the photos published seem too good to be true, search online and find out if they have been copied from other sites! Ninth point: Not always? it's always a good deal. Be wary of an object offered for sale at a negligible price, it is not always a bargain: make sure that there is not too much difference between the proposed prices and those of the market! And in any case, “Don’t trust?” Doubt those who ask to be contacted outside the advertising platform with ambiguous emails but also those who are in too much of a hurry to close the deal.
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