Good Lifestyle

However you already haveOnline This year you may find your habits that accelerate in the coming months. Whether you command last -minute Halloween costumes from Amazon, the collection of Cyber ​​Monday offers or the purchase of Christmas gifts, the online shopping season is necessarily busy. But even if this is a normal annual event for you, you could make risky mistakes. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) alerts the Americans with a common error that many people make. Read the rest to discover the type of card you need to use during your online purchases.

Read this then:Never do this with your phone in public, warns the FBI.

Given the many dangers hiding online, the FBIhas an entire section of its website dedicated to ensuring the safety of Americans online. "Daily tasks - by opening an e -mail attachment, following a link in an SMS, making an online purchase - can open you to online criminals who want to harm your systems or fly," 'agency.

In 2020, the FBI published aWarn About an increase in online scams. "An increasing number of victims are directed to fraudulent websites via social media platforms and popular online search engines," said the agency. These false websites generally lead to the victim of consumers of one of the most widespread online purchase diets: the scam without delivery.

"In a scam without delivery, a buyer pays the goods or services they find online, but these items are never received," explains the FBI.

According to a February 2022 report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), consumers have lostmore than $ 5.8 billion to fraud in 2021, which was a jump of 70% compared to the previous year. Following impostor scams, online scams were responsible for the majority of losses. The agency's report showed that consumers have declared a total of around $ 392 million in loss by online fraud of online purchase last year, a significant increase compared to the losses of 246 million dollars reported of this type of scam in 2020.

And there seems to be an increase in online shopping scams during the fall and winter holidays, according to the FBI. The agency says that its internet crime complaint center (IC3)receives a large number Complaints in the first months of each year, "suggesting a correlation with shopping scams of the holiday season." At the same time, the FBI quickly notes that online purchase flight can occur at any time of the year.

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Despite their prevalence, online scams are not inevitable - so it is not necessary to completely abandon online purchases. Instead, the FBI has a major advice for electronic commerce consumers: do not use your debit card. "Make online purchases with a credit card for an additional layer of fraud protection," recommends the agency.AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

One of the main reasons why the FBI advises to use your debit card to make online purchases is because it does not always guarantee the same protection for victims of online scams. According to Bankrate, credit cards are protectedUnder the Fair Credit Filling Act (FBCA), but debit cards are not.

If you do not end up receiving what you have paid, the FBCA allows you tocontest the accusation On your credit card as a billing error, the FTC explains. On the other hand, the agency warns that only "certain debit card issuers can voluntarily offer protections" because they are not required to do so.

"If you paid by debit card,Consumer protections are different from credit cards, "said the FTC." You may not be able to obtain refund for non-delivery. ""

When you buy something online, the FBI recommends that you "always get tracking numbers" for your items, even if you have paid by credit card. This allows you to make sure that your order has been shipped and allows you to follow the delivery process. If you have never received what you bought online, the FTC says you should "inform the seller as soon as possible".

Under the federal rule of electronic mail, internet or telephone goods, a sellermust ship your order In time, it is said that this will be the case. "If the seller does not promise time, he must send your order within 30 days of the moment," explains the FTC. If your order cannot be shipped within the promised period, the seller must inform you of any delay. They must also give you a new shipping date and give you the opportunity to cancel your order for a full refund.

"If you have a problem When shopping online , Try to work directly with the seller or the owner of the site: "The FTC recommends. If this does not work, you must contact your credit card company to challenge the costs and report online scams at the FTC.