Run away from scams: see 7 tips to shop more safely on Black Friday

Black Friday is coming and with it the insecurity of falling into scams and fraud while shopping online.

Now in 2021, with the reopening of stores after the improvement in the pandemic, and the consolidation of the habit of online shopping in recent years, they may lead to more options for attractive offers, but also to more scams, says Idec lawyer Igor Marchetti.

To buy more consciously and securely, experts give tips to identify the most common scams – such as fake websites – and avoid the date being synonymous with a problem.

1- Credibility

The credibility of websites is one of the first things consumers should pay attention to. Procon provides a list of unreliable email addresses. Consumers can check the list before completing a purchase.

You can also check the reputation of the store you are shopping at, how it treats customers, and the quality of the product through a link provided by the federal government.

“Make sure the store’s website you are visiting is genuine and not a fraudulent copy. Make sure the website address is spelled correctly and check if there is a lock in front of the website address in the browser address bar”, says Milene Fachini Jacob, head of the fintech area at Baptista Luz Advogados.

2- Attention

It is very common for the user to find exaggerated promotions and attractive links with unbelievably cheap prices. The lawyer of the Brazilian Institute for Consumer Protection (Idec) Igor Marchetti says that extra attention is needed at the time of purchase.

“This year, you have to be careful with sales via WhatsApp, as many links with promotions sent by the app are, in fact, data capture and fraud”, says Marchetti.

The lawyer also emphasizes the importance of verifying whether there is a service channel on the website and, if so, analyzing whether the channel is the same as the purchase channel.

3- Payment method

When making the payment, experts do not recommend instant transaction methods, due to the high risk of the consumer not receiving a refund in case of scams or purchases with values ​​higher than the correct one.

“Avoid direct transactions. Despite being easier, this type of transfer makes the chargeback more complicated, unlike a credit card”, analyzes Marchetti.

Milene Fachini says that the safest way to pay for online purchases is through a virtual credit card.

“A ‘new card’ is activated in the app itself and, in general, the number is only available for a certain period of time and then expires. Alternatively, the card issuing institution can provide a recurring virtual card, which can be blocked or disabled, at the client’s request”, explains the lawyer.

4- Pix

The two lawyers mention that using Pix for Black Friday 2021 payments may not be the most appropriate when considering the security factor. As this is an instant transaction, it cannot be reversed by the client.

“In this case, it is very important to carefully check the store’s CNPJ or the seller’s CPF and values, crossing them with those of the purchase and the seller”, says Milene.

It is noteworthy that the same premise is valid for payments via bank slip.

5- Wi-fi

Another important guideline is not to use public wi-fi when carrying out a financial transaction.

According to Michelle Fachini, “these networks can be manipulated by fraudsters to steal personal and banking data from users who are connected to it.”

“The recommendation is that the user use the public wi-fi to search for prices and websites, if needed, but complete the purchases using a private network”, completes the lawyer.

6- Plan

It is always recommended to re-evaluate the products before finalizing a purchase. Idec draws attention to the reflection on the need to obtain such an item, given the series of obligations that Brazilians have at the beginning of 2022.

“Prices may seem tempting, but it’s important to plan not to complicate your budget with Black Friday. Right after the date, it’s time to pay the IPTU, the IPVA, the school registration, the health plan. And you can’t get rid of these accounts,” says the organization.

For this reason, Idec recommends that consumers make a list of what they really want or need to avoid unnecessary expenses that could cause problems in the future.

7- Complaints

Last year, they were registered in the Procon-SP more than two thousand calls related to Black Friday. Of this total, 1,912 were complaints from “consumers who faced problems with purchases” and only 542 guidelines on the matter.

According to Procon-SP, the main annoyances are: delay or non-delivery; order canceled after checkout; discount makeup (a situation in which the discount offered on the product price is not real); unavailable service; price change at checkout; product delivered different from the order, incomplete or damaged.

Procon-SP will perform monitoring and orientation shifts between 6pm on Thursday (25th) and 10pm on Friday (26).

According to Procon and Reclame Aqui, it is important to have proof in case of problems during purchases. For example, taking pictures (or ‘printing’) of your computer screen with the store name, date and time.

This serves as proof of the irregularity at the time of the complaint. Whoever completed the order must also keep proof of payment and completed purchase to prevent possible failures by the companies.