Online Offers That You Need To Be Aware Of

There are plenty of bargains and great deals to find on the internet but not everything is as good as it first seems. If you are looking for fantastic promotions online, it is crucial that you know the most common online frauds and what you can do to avoid being a victim of online fraud.

Some free trial offers are not all they seem

Many companies know that it is very difficult to get convince people to buy their products, and this is especially true in the online community. It is understandable that consumers are wary of what they see online and this is why many firms will make it was easy as possible for consumers. One way in which a firm can convince a consumer of the merit and value of their product is to give them a free sample or offering.

There are many offers and promotions that allow customers to try a new product at no charge, with postage being the only thing that the customer has to pay for. This seems like a great deal and you can see why so many shoppers decide to try out this option.

However, buried away in the small print or the terms and conditions of the deal is the fact that this deal then reverts to a deal where the customer pays a monthly fee for ever until they cancel. The product is available for free (or for the cost of shipping) but if the customer then doesn’t cancel their subscription with a week, 14 days or maybe even a month of the order, they’ll find that their free deal is not as successful as it first seemed.

Companies providing this offer know that many people only pay attention to the headlines, and don’t bother reading the terms and conditions. Technically, the firm is doing nothing wrong but they are playing on the fact that many people don’t take the appropriate steps to know what they are getting into.

If you see a great offer online, make sure you take the time to check out all of the terms and conditions associated with the offer. If you don’t, you may find that you end up paying a very high sum of money for something that wasn’t worth too much to begin with.

Is the free Wi-Fi free?

Many businesses have realised that offering free Wi-Fi to customers is a great way to draw traffic in. You may commonly think of cafes and coffee shops as being the most common places to offer free Wi-Fi but a lot of businesses understand that this is a great way to create a relationship with consumers and to improve the connection between the customer and firm.

Some firms ask customers to provide their email address, and this means the firm then has the customer on the mailing list. Many consumers will think that this is a small price to pay in order to gain free internet access.

This is something that many fraudsters have realised and you need to make sure that the free Wi-Fi service you are signing up for is actually legitimate. It may be that the connection is being powered by fraudsters who are looking to gain access to your personal information or banking details. If you are signing up for Wi-Fi access that requires a small fee, it may be that the fraudster is looking for your payment details, which they can use for themselves or then sell on to other crooks and criminals.

Free Wi-Fi can often come in handy but you need to make sure that you the provider of the Wi-Fi connection can be trusted. If you want to minimise the risk of having details taken from you, make sure you don’t carry out any online shopping or carry out internet banking when you are using this connection.

It is often the small things that cause the biggest problems when it comes to online safety, so make sure you take steps to minimise your exposure to danger online.

As we take online connectivity for granted, it may be that some of us don’t protect ourselves in the manner that we should. However, staying alert and knowing the dangers and risks associated with online shopping can make life considerably easier for most people in the short and long term.

Andrew Reilly is a freelance writer with a focus on news stories and consumer interest articles. He has been writing professionally for 9 years but has been writing for as long as he can care to remember. When Andrew isn’t sat behind a laptop or researching a story, he will be found watching a gig or a game of football.