10 Steps to Buying Safely Online

1. Buy from businesses located in the United States if possible. Check for the physical location of the business before you buy. If you are buying from foreign locations, do not count on state or federal laws to protect you. If there's ever a problem, you may not have any legal recourse, or if you do -- it may be a long and painful process to resolve.
   
   
2. Make sure you are dealing with the actual company, not a "copycat" site. Always start by typing in the companies' URL (Uniform Resource Locator) into your browser.
   
   You can also get to your intended location by clicking on a bookmark that you set from the past. Before you click on a link, hover the mouse cursor over it and then check the lower left side of your computer screen at the status bar area. Be sure the URL is the same address as the one in the status bar. Some links may be bogus, leading you to a site that may look authentic but may actually be an imposter.
   
   
3. Be aware of Email scams known as "phishing". Phishing emails are scam emails that look like they are from a real, well known company but are phony and are used to steal personal information. For example, you may possibly get an email claiming it's from "eBay", but in fact may be from an imposter website hoping to gather your personal data. Many times these emails look authentic in every way including logos and graphics.
   
   If an email looks or sounds suspicious (referencing something you're not aware of), hover the mouse cursor over the link, to determine if it is legitimate. The link URL should be the same as the URL in the lower left side of your browser. When in doubt -- don't click on the link. Visit the site directly by typing in the URL.
   
   
4. NEVER give out your bankcard pin number, this is not needed for any internet transaction. If some place tells you it's necessary, they are lying.
   
   
5. Don't provide your social security number on any online order form. Unless you're dealing with a business requiring a credit report for a loan or something, most legitimate businesses will never ask you for it.
   
   
6. Do not provide any sensitive personal information on a website form unless you are on a secure page. A secure page will display a security symbol (a padlock icon) on the bottom right side of your browser screen. If the padlock shown is in the "locked" position, you are on a page that utilizes encryption technology. This means it is safe to provide personal and credit card information, without fear of interception by a non-authorized party.
   
   
7. Trust your instincts. If you are comparing prices for a particular item, and one web site is selling it FAR below everyone else, quality or service may be suspect. As the old adage goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
   
   
8. Look for the Better Business Bureau logo on the web site. This is an additional sign of reliability and provides the consumer an avenue to resolve a dispute if a transaction does not live up to your expectations.
   
   Visit: bbbonline.org for more info.
   
   
9. Install the Alexa tool bar. This is a powerful tool that shows you the popularity of any web site in comparison to all other web sites on the Internet. For example: Google.com will have an Alexa Ranking of "3" meaning it is the 3rd most visited site online. This will give you an idea of how credible the company is.
   
   If you visit a website that has a ranking of 150,000 or lower, you know that it's a legitimate and widely used website. Newer sites or unpopular sites may have "no information available" or have a ranking in the millions.
   
   SIDE NOTE: I personally used Alexa recently when I was buying contact lenses for my wife. Both companies I was looking at were similar in almost every way, but when I compared the Alexa ranking, one company had "no information" and the other had a 50,000 ranking. This solidified my decision because I knew that the second company had a lot of traffic and was likely to be a company taking their business seriously.
   
   This tool is a great help in finding businesses with a higher rate of internet traffic. These types of companies have been around for awhile, and will likely provide a better buying experience. It also gives you company information such as addresses and phone numbers.
   
   The Alexa Toolbar, with over 10 million downloads, is perhaps the most widely used free browser add-on for Windows and Internet Explorer. I highly recommend it.
   
   You can download their free toolbar at:
   http://www.alexa.com/site/download
   
   
10. Finally, make sure to keep all order information and print out a receipt at the time of your order. It is always a good idea to keep a hard copy of a transaction for your records even after the package has arrived. Bookmark the web site so that you can return and remember where you bought the item from if the need ever arises in the future.

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