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DAVID ELLISON'S CONSUMER WATCH: Watch out for shopper scams onlineNov 29, 2008 (Houston Chronicle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- While some dashed from one store to another on Black Friday searching for deals, others rested their legs -- and fingers -- while waiting for online sales on Monday. With the growth of e-commerce, the Monday after Thanksgiving has earned its own nickname: Cyber Monday, when thousands of consumers around the country will get on computers and search for Christmas gifts. In preparation for that day, Consumer Watch wants to provide a few tips to stretching your dollars and avoiding Internet scams. First of all, there are many Web sites that provide coupons for online shopping. Gary Gray, co-founder of CouponChief.com, said shopping online allows people to save gas, as well as avoid crowded parking lots and lines. "With the current economy and declining consumer confidence, retailers will be offering extra discounts this year in order to entice consumers to spend their money," Gray said. "Consumers should take the time to shop around and compare prices to find the best deal." Gray said look at sites like CouponChief.com to see whether there are discount codes to save additional money. On average, consumers save 10 percent extra by entering a coupon code during checkout. Shopping online at some sites might mean you will pay an added cost for shipping. Therefore, if at all possible, search for a site that will ship the items for free. Walmart.com, for example, allows customers to purchase online and then have their orders shipped free to a local Wal-Mart, said Ravi Jariwala, a company spokesman. And while shoppers will be busy on Cyber Monday, so will the computer hackers and scammers who are trying to get your credit card account information. Discover Card offers consumers the following safety tips to avoid becoming a victim of credit card fraud when shopping online: --Verify that the Web site is legitimate and not a "dummy" site. --Keep at least two separate sets of user names and passwords so that you are using one set for financial data and another for consumer purchases. --Install e-mail spam protection programs and antivirus software to defend yourself against spyware. --Enroll in e-mail reminder alerts so that you are flagged if there is any suspicious activity to your credit card account. But don't let your guard down after Monday, which is only the beginning of increased online shopping. "There's a misconception that Cyber Monday is the heaviest online spending day of the year, similar to what Black Friday is for retail," said Andrew Lipsman, a senior analyst at comScore Inc., an Internet research firm in Reston, Va. "It represents the first significant spike in online spending activity." He said online spending increases over the next two weeks until about the middle of December, when the peak day occurs. Earlier this week, comScore reported that so far $8.2 billion has been spent online for holiday shopping, marking a 4 percent decline versus the corresponding days last year. Plugged in with e-mails You're checking your e-mail and notice a friend has forwarded a message from Aeropostale, which is offering 30 percent discount on items. Since this sale isn't advertised to the general public, you immediately ask yourself: "How can I get on the e-mail list?" If you check certain stores' Web sites, there's usually a place to sign up for such e-mails. Jen King, a spokeswoman for the Home Depot, said customers can sign up at the bottom of the store's home page as well as by joining the garden club, which provides customers with deals on trees, plants and other live products. "We really try not to bombard consumers with e-mails," King said. "You might get an e-mail as often as once a week. And we try to make them meaningful." Got a problem? Send an e-mail to [email protected] And check out the Consumer Watch blog at http://blogs.chron.com/consumerwatch/ To see more of the Houston Chronicle, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.HoustonChronicle.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Houston Chronicle Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |