Some deals are too good to be true

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By John North, Contributing Columnist 11:37 PM Saturday, November 28, 2009

Many people will be hunting for the best deals this holiday season, and many will search online for those bargains.

Some industry experts predict retailers will make deep price cuts, particularly on electronics, to lure in shoppers. Unfortunately, not all Web sites promising discounts are legitimate, so you need to do your research when shopping online or risk getting ripped off.

The Better Business Bureau advises you watch out for five red flags when identifying suspect electronics Web sites:

• Item prices are too good to be true. If item prices are well below those of trusted competitors, walk away.

• Spelling and grammatical errors abound. Some phony electronics Web sites are created by scammers overseas. As a result, the Web sites or spam e-mails directing shoppers to the site might have grammatical mistakes or spelling errors.

• The business only accepts payment via wire transfer. Scammers often ask victims to wire payment because the money cannot be easily tracked in the case of fraud. The BBB recommends always using a credit card to pay for electronics online. If the Web site turns out to be fraudulent, you can dispute the charge with your credit card company and hopefully get your money back.

• The business has a bad rating with the BBB. Review the company’s reliability report online at www.bbb.org or by calling (937) 222-5825.

• The Web site fraudulently uses security seals. Scam Web sites often will display seals from certification organizations, such as VeriSign, IQNet or TRUSTe, without authorization. When shopping online, confirm the company’s legitimately using the seal. Clicking on the seal should link you to a confirmation page on the certifying organization’s site.

If you are not on the certifying organization’s Web site, the use of the seal likely is unauthorized.

John North is president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau.

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