Diwali 2021: Beware of online shopping fraud! Here is how to save money - 10 tips

Diwali 2021: The festive season is very much here and the shopping spree is at a high and a large part of it is being done online. However, beware! There are cybercriminals out there looking to dupe you and you must know how to stop them from taking your money. Know that, not just online shopping, even the bank loan process, discounts and cashback offers can be used as a pretext to steal from you.

Most people in India do almost all their big ticket purchases, along with small ones, around the auspicious occasion of Diwali. From homes, cars to electrical gadgets, everything is bought during this period. With Covid-19 pandemic still present among us, many people are unwilling to go to public places like malls to do their shopping. Instead, they prefer to shop online. It is very easy to do and can be done from the comforts of home and you don't even have to carry the shopping bags as they are delivered right to your doorstep. So, while going to the shop and paying cash for the product that you can see and touch will keep you safe, buying the same online can lead you into trouble because of rampant cybercrime there.

The thing is, cybercriminals have realised that very few people actually bother to verify the website they are buying from or paying money to. There are so many fake websites of banks, ecommerce and other companies present online that look almost original. Many people often end up getting lured by offers from the fake websites and paying large sums of money to cybercriminals. They will of course, never get their money back.

To save yourself from falling victim to such horrible crimes, here we explain to you about how to stay safe while doing online shopping - Top safe online shopping tips.

1. Do not speak to strangers making calls with unbelievably good offers. These offers are generally always fake ones.

2. Do not share your personal information with anyone over phone, SMS, social media or even email.

3. Under no circumstance should you share your username, passwords, OTPs with any strangers.

4. Don't go to Google Search to find the link to any shopping company. There may be a fake one on top, masquerading as the real one.

5. When an OTP lands on your phone that you have not asked for, do not share it with anyone who may call and ask you for it under any circumstance.

6. Two-factor authentication should be live on all your online accounts, from email, social media to bank accounts.

7. Do not install remote access apps like Anydesk and Quick Support unless you really need them.

8. Register your mobile number with your bank to receive notifications whenever any transaction happens on your bank account

9. If you are on Twitter, do check for the blue tick that indicates it is a verified handle.

10. In case you get a link to receive some payment, do not click on it. It is likely a scam.