96 TECH ADVISOR • MARCH 2020SECURITY SPECIAL
Agency, the Federal Trade Commission, or one of
many Internet Fraud Detection lists for complaints or
incidents of fraud.Retail rules of thumb
You can’t be too alert when shopping online shopping,
especially if you start delving into obscure sites via
Internet search.- Read the fine print on customer contracts,
agreements, product information, and policies
concerning returns. I know these contracts are long
andtedious,butit’sworthyourtimeif it savesyou
frombeing swindled. - Don’t be fooled by unbelievable prices. If it’s too
good to be true, it probably isn’t. - Read the customers’ reviews on that site, but don’t
be misled by an implausible number of great reviews.
Read the bad reviews first, and pay attention to what
the customers say. If there are a lot of bad reviews,
companies hire people to write hundreds of ‘fake’
good reviews hoping that a windfall of goodness will
cancel out the negative responses. Customers tend
to complain more than compliment, so believe the
complaints, especially if the reviewer provides contact
information for further discussion. Companies that
personally address bad reviews and offer to provide
a refund, replacement product, or agree to discuss a
resolution are worth a second chance. At least they are
trying to keep their customers happy.