Cyber Monday is a new marketing concept, and it was conceptualized in 2005 when retailers found a growth in Internet traffic and sales on the first day most people go back to work after the 4-day Thanksgiving weekend. The increasing importance of online Christmas shopping may be due to the fact a lot of people choose to shop at home to escape the crowds. Some people also shop on the web because they were unable to wrap up all of their shopping over the Thanksgiving weekend. Prior to 2005, online sales during the Monday immediately after Thanksgiving were not really considerable.
The idea of Cyber Monday deals ultimately became popular and by now, online sales on that day have increased by 100% since its inception in 2005. Nowadays, retailers in many countries, such as United states, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other European countries now have Cyber Monday deals. However, as the number of people doing Christmas shopping online increases, scams that milk money from unsuspecting consumers have also increased. Therefore, if you are planning to do some Christmas shopping online, here are some tips to avoid being scammed.
Be cautious about e-mail links
Clicking links from bogus e-mails is one of the oldest online scam tactics. There are e-mails offering attractive bargains from well-known sites but when you follow links placed in them, you are taken to fake, possibly malware-laden websites. To avoid being scammed, use your web browser to check the website offering the discount cited in the e-mail. If you cannot see the deal mentioned in the e-mail in the website, it is probably a hoax.
Watch out for deals that ridiculously big discounts
Stores offer substantially discounted products to entice consumers to check out their websites. Remember however that not all advertisements for ridiculously deep discounts are legitimate or good deals at all. Make sure to only buy from sites that are well-known and trusted. If you are in the US, the National Retail Federation's CyberMonday.com maintains a list of legit merchants offering Cyber Monday deals.
Only buy making use of credit card on secure sites
By utilizing credit cards, you can dispute a transaction on your bill if you did not receive your purchase. When buying online, ensure that your personal and credit card information are kept safe. To be sure you are on a secure page, check if the URL starts with https and not http or if a lock icon is displayed on the URL or status bar. Click here for more articles about Cyber Monday deals.
Cyber Monday deals 2012 is now one of the biggest shopping days after Thanksgiving Weekend. However, with more and more people shopping online, the number of scams have also increased, so you should be more careful when buying anything on the Web to avoid being ripped off.
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