How To Avoid Online Marketing Scams

The fourth quarter of every year is characterized by an increase in both actual and attempted fraud incidents. It is during this season, all affiliate marketers are expected to be vigilant and stay away from suspicious behaviour.

The escalating number of cases of COVID 19 has led to the rise of fraud cases, all as a result of a growth in usage of digital transactions and payment cards.

During the holiday shopping season, criminals spring to life to perpetrate fraudulent transactions, with hopes that they will pass as legitimate.

So how do you secure yourself from fraudsters and identity thieves?

1. Use Trusted Payment Methods

The trusted payment platforms are ApplePay and PayPal, but any other app is OK as long as you have done your due diligence. Research about any payment platform you choose to use by reading their reviews.

Check Google or Bing carefully to see if the app is a scam or not. It is advisable to do a test transaction with a small amount of money and ask that person to confirm they got it. Then you go ahead to send the more money to complete the transaction.

2. Monitor Your Credit Report

It does no harm to regularly monitor and reconcile your credit reports. This enables you to quickly identify strange or suspicious transactions in time. If you are sure of not using your account for a while, you can contact your banker to put a restriction to your account.

For every transaction you are to make online, always bear in mind that there is a growing number of scam artists out there! Stay safe by being careful before you press the “send” button.

3. Change Your Passwords Regularly

Besides regularly changing your passwords, you should have strong passwords, where you mix capitals, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. The longer the password is, the better. This makes cracking your password literally impossible.

4. Use Authentication Features

To provide an additional protection layer that guarantees security, it is highly recommended that you use any other authentication capabilities offered by apps and websites you visit often. The safest type to use is a one-time passcode, which can be texted or emailed to you, though face and voice biometrics are increasingly becoming popular.

For every transaction you are to make online, always bear in mind that there is a growing number of scam artists out there! Stay safe by being careful before you press the “send” button.