Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Illinois urges shoppers to be cautious of unscrupulous businesses and individuals who may try to trick and scam unsuspecting consumers. Warn your friends and family and help them avoid losing hard-earned-cash.
Sample narrative:
Shoppers often participate in Cyber Monday because of the 24-hour convenience offered by online shopping. Additionally, people are able to avoid the crowds of Black Friday and they can take advantage of the sales and delivery specials that online retailers offer. While shopping online, it’s important to remember to do your research and shop securely. Below are some trends and tips to help make your online shopping experience a safe and successful one.
Top-5 Tips:
- Parental control. There is software you can install on your kids’ and teens’ computers and mobile devices to limit the websites they can access. This is something to consider for retail websites the younger shoppers in your household may access.
- Hackers like kids IDs. Since kids and teens have not established a credit history or have no blemishes on their credit report, hackers are always on the lookout for their information. Hackers can obtain credit cards, loans and more in your child’s name. Talk to your family about the importance of not giving out personal information in soliciting emails or on social media.
- Email phishing. Teach your teens and young adults about how to catch phishing emails.
- Looking out for scams. People tend to shop based on what peers and celebrities are wearing or using. Scammers will try to lure them to click on links such as “free Kylie products,” “free concerts,” “free games” and more. If it seems too good to be true, do not click.
- HTTP and HTTPS. Before sending any personal and sensitive information over the Internet, make sure the website has “https://” at the beginning of its web address. The “S” at the end of HTTPS indicates that the website is secure and your information is encrypted, which makes it safe to enter credit card number or other personal information.
Top Trends:
- The holiday shopping weekend, Black Friday through Cyber Monday, accounts for 20% of all online shopping. https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-black-friday-3305710
- In 2017, online transactions on Cyber Monday reached a record $6.59 billion, a 16.8 percent increase over the previous year. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/28/a-record-6-point-59-billion-spent-online-on-cyber-monday-making-us-history.html
- For the first time, mobile sales reached $2 billion over a 24-hour period. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/28/a-record-6-point-59-billion-spent-online-on-cyber-monday-making-us-history.html
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