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OpinionLetters

Letters | How to protect yourself from online shopping scams

  • Readers discuss ways to avoid falling into online traps, and why schoolchildren should be spared Covid tests

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In Hong Kong, 3,954 fraud cases related to online shopping were reported in the first half of 2022, up 41 per cent from the same period last year. Scammers often put lots of effort into the e-shop homepage, product views and payment processing, but little effort into the “about us” and return policy pages. These can be red flags. Photo: Shutterstock
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Christmas and Lunar New Year are approaching. According to the 2022 Norton Cyber Safety Insights Report on online holiday shopping, 95 per cent of global consumers surveyed plan to shop online. However, cyberthreats are becoming more prevalent.

In Hong Kong, 3,954 fraud cases related to online shopping were reported in the first half of 2022, up 41 per cent from the same period last year. In 2021, out of 3,737 phishing cases handled by the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre (HKCERT), more than 70 per cent involved online shopping or online banking.
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To prevent unnecessary losses from dampening the holiday spirit, here are some golden rules for protecting yourself from online shopping scams and fraud.

First, use two-factor authentication when shopping online.

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Second, check the domain before buying anything online. A domain is the website’s unique name, displayed as part of a web address. One general misconception is that a website is safe if there is a lock symbol in front of the address. Yet, this only means that the data you enter on this website will not be spied on. Passwords and payment methods could still be stolen. To check the domain, shoppers can use URL lookup tools.

You should also never click on offer links from messages or emails as they could be sophisticated scams.

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