Online shopping can end with loss of money – how not to fall victim to scammers
The cybercrime department of the police reminded about one of the most common types of internet fraud — selling non-existent goods with a demand for partial or full prepayment.
The police point out that the scheme usually looks like this: the buyer finds an advertisement, the seller asks for a prepayment and sends bank details. After receiving the money, the advertisement is deleted, contact with the “seller” disappears, and the goods do not arrive.
This scheme remains one of the most common among online scams and is often based on the trust and haste of buyers.
How to protect yourself during online shopping
Law enforcement officers advise following basic safety rules:
- buy goods only on verified online platforms;
- choose cash on delivery whenever possible;
- use a separate virtual card for online payments and top it up only with the necessary amount;
- carefully check the website address, as even a slight change in characters may indicate a phishing resource;
- do not share bank card details with third parties, including CVV code, expiration date, or PIN code;
- communicate with sellers only through official platform chats and do not switch to third-party messengers.
Prepayment can lead to loss of funds. If you have doubts about the seller, it is better to refuse the purchase, as online shopping requires attentiveness.
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