As the Internet community grows, so are the number of people buying and selling items online. Nowadays, we can shop for anything from exotic goods and rare finds to bargain deals in the comfort of our homes. However, with so much money changing hands online, criminals would figure that the Internet would be a good place to take advantage of the unwary.

Understanding the risks

Before you click on the 'Buy' button and start entering your credit card details, keep in mind that buying things online involves risks that you might not associate with buying things from brick and mortar shops. Some common risks include:

• Items arriving late, in a damaged condition or not arrive at all
  
• Poor or non-existent after sales service
  
• Credit or debit card fraud
  
• Goods that do not match the product description, or are of poor quality
  
• Purchases that end up to be bootlegs or fakes
  

Although there is no foolproof method to avoiding lousy purchases and unpleasant experiences online, these are some of the basic steps that would at least keep bad buys to a minimum:

Only buy from reputable dealers

Good online dealers will:

• Charge a fair price for its products and services
  
• Has a clear selling and delivery policy, detailing shipping and handling fees, taxes and so on
  
• Provides information shipping and packaging options, and customs declarations, if any
  
• Has a good privacy policy
  
• Provides a return or exchange policy
  
• Has a secure website and protects customer data (look for the 'https://' address on your browser before entering credit card or payment information)
  
• Processes and ships its goods within the promised time frame
  

Look out for signs of a good retailer

• Make sure that the website's URL has a 'https://' prefix before entering credit card or payment information
  
• Look out for the Verisign padlock logo on the website's status bar that proves it is a secure site
• Check if it has any security certificates such as those issued by Verisign, Thawte, Equifax and GeoTrust
  
• Google the retailer's name and look for any comments from other customers
  

Protect yourself

• When buying items online, also take the following steps to protect yourself
  
• Compare prices and shipping/handling before deciding on a purchase
  
• Look for a registered trading address (this should be a street address, and not just a PO box)
  
• Watch out for 'expensive add-ons' such as unusually high shipping and handling fees, or imposes a mandatory tax
  
• Pay by credit card, or Paypal, which provides more protection against fraud
  
• Save all documentation, such as invoices, tracking numbers and so on