How I Actually Shop Online Without Getting Scammed
Why I Still Get Nervous Typing In My Card Details
I've been doing this a long time and I still feel a small flicker of doubt every time I type my card number into a new website. That flicker is doing you a favour, if you're honest with yourself about it. Online shopping scams cost shoppers hundreds of millions of pounds a year, and the numbers spike hard around big sale periods, when everyone's guard drops because they're rushing to grab a bargain before it disappears. I've written before about the seasonal spike in scams around Christmas, and the same instincts apply whenever you're buying from somewhere unfamiliar, not just in December.
The Checks I Run Before I Buy From a New Site
Before I hand over any card details to a shop I haven't used before, I run through a short checklist. I look for a proper company name, a UK address, and a contact page that isn't just a form disappearing into the void. I check the web address starts with https and has the little padlock, though I don't treat that as proof of anything on its own anymore, since scammers can get padlocks too. What I really trust is a quick search of the company name plus the word "reviews" or "scam", because genuine problems tend to show up fast in other people's experiences. If a site's only reviews are five stars and suspiciously generic, that's usually the real red flag, not the padlock. I also check whether a returns policy actually exists and whether it's specific rather than vague, since a shop with no real returns process in place is often not planning on being around long enough to honour one anyway.
How I Pay When I Want an Extra Layer of Protection
The payment method matters almost as much as the site itself. I always use a credit card rather than a debit card for anything over about £100, because Section 75 protection means the card company is jointly liable if something goes wrong, which is a real legal backstop that a debit card just doesn't give you. I never pay by bank transfer to an individual seller I don't know, no matter how convincing the story is, because once that money's gone, it's gone. I also use a password manager like NordPass for every shopping account I create, so a breach at one retailer doesn't hand someone the keys to my email or my banking too. I also glance through my card statement every few weeks rather than waiting for the monthly summary, since catching an unfamiliar charge within days makes a dispute far easier to resolve than spotting it a month later.
The Marketplace and Reseller Sites I'm Extra Careful With
Marketplaces and reseller sites get a different level of caution from me than an established retailer's own website, since anyone can list anything and there's rarely a company standing behind the transaction the way there would be with a normal shop. I stick to the platform's own payment system rather than being talked into paying directly, use its dispute process, and message the seller through the platform itself so there's a record if something goes wrong. Anyone who wants to move the conversation to text messages or a different payment app the moment you show interest is one of the clearest warning signs I know, since it takes you out of the reach of the protections you'd otherwise have.
The Deals That Are Almost Always a Trap
If a deal looks too good, it usually is, and I say that as someone who still gets tempted by a "70% off, today only" banner more than I'd like to admit. Fake ads for big-brand trainers, electronics, and garden furniture are everywhere on social media at the moment, often running from accounts that were created a few weeks ago and have almost no followers. I check how long a page has existed and whether it has genuine engagement before I trust an ad, and if I'm shopping on public wifi in a café, I make sure I'm connected through a VPN like NordVPN first, since public networks are exactly the kind of place card details get intercepted. The same goes for fake shopping apps that mimic a well known retailer's branding closely enough to fool a quick glance, I only download shopping apps through the official app store and I check the developer name matches the real company before I trust it with any card details.
Why I Double Check Delivery and Tracking Details
A scam doesn't always happen at the checkout, sometimes it shows up afterwards, in a text or email claiming there's a problem with delivery and asking for a small fee to release the parcel. Legitimate couriers don't usually ask for payment by text link, so I go to the courier's own website or app directly rather than tapping anything in the message. I also keep an eye on the tracking number a retailer actually gives me, since a purchase that never generates a proper tracking number at all is one of the quieter signs something wasn't right from the start.
What I Do If a Purchase Goes Wrong
If something does go wrong, speed matters. I contact my card provider straight away to flag the transaction and start a dispute, keep every email, screenshot, and order confirmation as evidence, and report the scam to Action Fraud so it's on record and can be linked to other reports about the same seller. Two factor authentication on my accounts means that even if my shopping details end up in a breach somewhere, it's much harder for anyone to actually get into my accounts and cause more damage. If you want help going through your own setup before your next big shop, my Safety Toolkit is a good starting point, or you can get in touch and I'll talk you through it. I also make a note of exactly when I reported it and to whom, since a scam that gets reported quickly is far easier for a bank or Action Fraud to act on than one reported weeks after the fact.