This holiday season, everyone will be on the hunt for the best deals. The Better Business Bureau warns online shoppers, however, that some deals for electronics are too good to be true.
Watch for these five red flags:
Prices are too good to be true. Scammers use low prices to lure victims in. If prices for items are well below those of trusted competitors, walk away.
Spelling and grammatical errors abound. Some phony electronics Web sites are created by scammers overseas. As a result, the Web sites or spam e-mails directing shoppers to the site might have many grammatical mistakes or spelling errors.
The business accepts payment via wire transfer only. Scammers often require wire payment through Western Union or MoneyGram because the money cannot be easily tracked or retrieved. BBB recommends always using a credit card to pay for electronics online. If the Web site turns out to be fraudulent, you can dispute the charge with your credit card carrier.
The business has a bad rating with BBB. Check out the business’s reliability rating at
wynco.bbb.org. If you don’t find a report, it doesn’t necessarily mean the business is fraudulent, but it may indicate the business is new or hasn’t developed a consumer track record.
The Web site fraudulently uses security seals. Scam Web sites often display seals from VeriSign, IQNet or TRUSTe without authorization or falsely claim to be accredited by the BBB. Confirm that seals from trusted organizations are legitimate by clicking it on. If legitimate, it will link to a confirmation page. BBB warns, however, that some scammers have craftily created fake confirmation pages. Are you on the Web site of the certifying organization? If not, the use of the seal is likely unauthorized. Double check your conclusion by visiting the Web site of the certifier to find their list of legitimate seal holders.
When shopping online for electronics, always look for the BBB Accredited Seal — which shows that the business upholds the BBB’s rigorous standards for marketplace ethics — and then visit
wynco.bbb.org to confirm BBB accreditation.
Start With Trust. For more advice on being a savvy online shopper, visit
wynco.bbb.org or call 970-484-1348 or 800-564-0371.
About the BBB
The Better Business Bureau, founded in 1912, is a champion for ethics and trust in the marketplace. Only businesses that meet the high BBB standards are invited to become BBB Accredited Businesses. Today, 128 BBBs across the United States and Canada rate more than 3 million local and national businesses and charities with scores ranging from A to F. Only a BBB Accredited Business may elect to participate in BBBOnLine, one of the most trusted and recognized Internet seal programs in the world.
The BBB serving northern Colorado and Wyoming is trending toward 1 million instances of service to consumers and businesses in 2009. These services include reliability reports on local companies and charities, access to companies that can be trusted by industry, help with dispute resolution, and trustworthy information on consumer and business topics.
Barbara Read, VP Communications Director, 970-488-2035, bread@wynco.bbb.org