Shop online and save money

It’s possible to save money on the internet while staying safe – we show you how

If there’s one area of day-to-day life that the internet has revolutionised it’s the way we shop.

More convenient than going to the high street, simpler than mail order and with more bargains than an entire shopping centre’s worth of January sales put together, the internet really is top of the shops.

Not only can you effectively trawl the stockrooms and warehouses of almost every well-known retailer in the land, but you can also hunt down bargains and rarities from online auctions and overseas stores from the comfort of your desktop and have everything delivered directly to your door.

But with all the horror stories in the media about online fraud, identity theft and credit card crime, you could be forgiven for thinking that shopping on the internet is fraught with danger.

In fact, by following a few simple rules and shopping wisely, you can remain just as safe – if not safer – than you would be on your local high street.

So, read on to find out how you can make sure your online shopping experience is a pleasant, secure and fruitful one.

The price is right
First, let’s remind ourselves why online shopping really is worthwhile. Whether you’re looking to buy computer accessories or car insurance, the internet is by far and away the best place to shop. For starters, it’s not just a myth that things are cheaper online – they often are.

Take the DVD of the movie Ocean’s 13, for example; at the time of going to press the recently released George Clooney crime caper is just £4.99 at Play.com, compared with anything from £12.99 to £19.99 on the high street. That’s not to say that you won’t be able to find a bargain offline too, but it will almost certainly be harder to track down the best price from local shops.

It wasn’t long ago that comparing prices meant physically traipsing from shop to shop to weigh up differences in cost or, at the very least, phoning round to see who was selling a particular item for less. The internet removes the need for either of these time-wasting activities, allowing web surfers to check prices and, in many cases, stock levels for specific items within a few clicks.

Even better, with price comparison sites, such as Computeractive’s own Active Prices, it’s possible to search for items and instantly view prices from an assortment of retailers side by side.

Price comparison sites don’t just work for CDs, DVDs and computer goods, either. You can compare prices for almost anything, from flowers and food to flights and hotel rooms, utility providers and even credit card deals.

A culture of choice
Cheaper prices aside, there are innumerable benefits to shopping online.

No matter what you’re after, however obscure, someone is bound to be selling it online.

Big internet-only retailers such as Amazon work out of large warehouses, which not only allows them to keep the overheads down (and therefore their prices low), but also makes it easier to keep high levels of stock – and not just popular stuff either.

Virtually limitless shelf space means that stores such as Amazon and Play.com are able to keep many less in-demand items that real-world shops simply don’t have room for. So, anyone who is fed up hearing the old shop assistant’s catchphrase “we can order it in for you” can cut out the middle man and order it for themselves.

The internet has well and truly opened up a global market for shoppers, with many online retailers around the world offering international shipping on their goods.

So, once again, if you can’t get hold of that little-known Italian arthouse movie from UK outlets, then go directly to the source – the Italian DVD outlet DVD Online and many like it will be more than happy to send the goods your way from their country of origin. Of course, online auctions and international shopping bring with them their own complications, more of which later.

Safety net
The big question that most people have when it comes to online shopping is usually ‘is it safe?’ We’d be lying if we said there weren’t any risks involved at all, but buying from the web is probably much more secure than you might think.

The truth is that internet crime’s reputation generally far outstretches its actual impact. A recent survey by Get Safe Online, for example, suggests that more than one in five people avoid online shopping altogether due to fears about safety.

In fact, figures from banking body Apacs demonstrate that overall credit card fraud in the UK decreased by three per cent last year, despite greatly increased spending online; shoppers spent as much as 42 per cent more on the net in 2007 compared to 2006, according to Get Safe Online, with an estimated £13bn spent online over Christmas.

That said, it is still necessary to remain wary of the problems that can occur while buying online. As well as worrying about the threat of being ripped off or having their identity stolen, internet shoppers may need to contend with delivery delays, disputes with damaged or incorrect items and, of course, whether or not your order will actually turn up in the first place.

The trick is to know how to steer clear of these pitfalls as best you can and how to deal with them as painlessly as possible.

A question of trust
The best way to avoid most of the risks mentioned above is by ordering only from trusted sources. How can you tell whether or not an online retailer is trustworthy or not?

The simplest course of action is to stick to known brands; either the online outlets of familiar high-street names or web-only retailers that are well established or recommended by magazines such as Computeractive. Ideally, the retail website should be able to provide a real-world address and phone number too.

You can be assured that reputable stores of this kind will not attempt to defraud you. Any inconvenience you might experience is likely to be down to accident (such as a lost delivery or an item damaged in transit) rather than malicious intent. Most good retailers have straightforward, efficient returns and refunds systems to rectify such a problem should it occur.

Looks can deceive
Unfortunately, scammers have developed some sophisticated ways of making people think they’re using the genuine website of a trusted company when, in fact, they’re using a fake site designed to steal credit card and personal information.

Phishing scams, as they are known, are much more prevalent in the internet auction and banking worlds than in retail, but it’s still worth protecting yourself against this form of identity theft when you’re shopping on the net.

There are many ways to safeguard against phishing scams, however. For starters, you could make it common practice to carefully type the web address of any shopping site you wish to use, rather than clicking on a link. Links, particularly those in emails, can look like they lead to a ‘real’ shop while taking you somewhere else instead.

It’s also crucial to keep your computer’s security up to date, as this can help protect against fraudsters. For example, spyware can get into a PC and alter its bookmarks so they lead to fake websites.

In extreme cases, malicious software on a PC can record any keys pressed on a keyboard and send this information to criminals. Type in a credit card number to pay for something online and you could inadvertently be handing it over to crooks.

With an anti-spyware application, such as Adaware or Windows Defender (which is built into Windows Vista and can be obtained for XP) there’s basically nothing to fear from this type of threat, as long as the utility is kept up to date and regular scans are run.

Protect yourself
Further security can be provided by using the latest web browsers. Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2, for instance, both have built-in phishing filters that can spot a fake website from a virtual mile off. See 'How to use anti-phishing browser tools' below for details on how to use these.

Newer browsers also have better all-round security. Internet Explorer 7, for example, features a ‘Protected Mode’ that prevents websites from installing anything on your PC, and can block web pages that appear untrustworthy.

In addition to the protection offered by the software on your PC, there are some simple checks you should run yourself before you type any sensitive information, such as address and payment details, into an online form.

Most importantly, when you reach the area of a site that requests payment details, make sure the site you’re using is secure by checking that the page’s address starts with ‘https:’ rather than just ‘http:’. Also, look for the symbol of a small padlock – this should be somewhere in the browser’s menu bar, not on the web page itself.

Clicking on the padlock will reveal details of the site’s security certificate – proof that its identity as a legitimate retailer has been verified by a company that specialises in web transaction security, such as Verisign.

How to pay safely
When it comes to the online payment, the best way is with a credit card. If an online store specifically asks for a cheque or cash, then avoid it.

Ideally, purchases shouldn’t be made by debit card, either; a credit card has much more built-in protection, should anything go wrong.

Purchases over £100, for instance, are covered by the Consumer Credit Act, which means in the event of a problem you will be able to claim your money back from the credit card company.

An additional layer of password protection is usually offered by your credit card provider. Both Visa and Mastercard have free security schemes (called Verified by Visa and Mastercard Securecode respectively).

Both provide you with a password to enter when paying for goods with an online retailer that has signed up to the scheme.

Not all retailers do, however, but you can find out more about the Visa protection scheme on the Visa website and about the Mastercard equivalent on its website.

Some stores, such as Amazon, offer to hold a credit card number on file for you, making it easy to pay for items with only a few clicks.

Handing over your credit card details to a third party to hold may not sound secure, but if you use the site regularly, it could be safer than typing the card number in every time.

Another good way of paying for goods online is by using a third-party payment service such as Paypal.

Paypal holds your credit card details and, when you buy something using the service, Paypal makes the payment for you and deducts the amount from your card.

This effectively means you don’t have to hand your details over to an unknown and potentially untrustworthy seller, which makes Paypal ideal for purchases at online auction.

In fact, Paypal is owned by Ebay but several other online vendors, particularly independent software developers, allow you to pay this way. Paypal also comes with its own Buyer Protection Policy, which reimburses users for some losses up to £500.

After sales
In the event that something does go wrong, the first thing to do is to contact the vendor via its preferred means, which will usually entail paying a visit to the website’s help pages and checking the relevant procedure or emailing a query. In the vast majority of cases, a reputable online retailer will fall over itself to address any problems that might have occurred with a purchase.

Occasionally, the ‘official’ procedure can take slightly longer than you might hope, but the trick is to remain as patient as possible. If the matter doesn’t resolve itself, you may need to escalate it to the level of a dispute, in which case you should consult Consumer Direct, which is a telephone and online consumer advice service that is operated by the Office of Fair Trading.

It’s a similar story if there’s a problem with something purchased from overseas; try to deal with the vendor directly if possible and turn to Consumer Direct if this doesn’t yield any results.

Theoretically, if a foreign retailer sells to a British buyer, then UK law still applies. Unfortunately, in practice it can be difficult to apply legal action over long distances, so extra care should always be taken when buying from abroad. In fact, we’d suggest that unless a non-EU company has been personally recommended to you, steer clear and buy from a local store instead.

Checkout
As long as you’re armed with a reasonable level of common sense, there’s no reason why the internet should be any less safe than the real world.

Mix-ups over delivery dates and orders can occur, but that’s hardly the same as fraud.

It’s worth pointing out that millions of purchases are made from legitimate websites every day without fuss, giving consumers great value, wider choice and the convenience of shopping from home.

As long as you’re careful where you buy from and take care with your personal details, there’s no reason your own online shopping trips shouldn’t be the same.

How to use anti-phishing browser tools
One of the best ways to prevent being caught out by a fake ‘phishing’ website is to use a browser with anti-phishing tools built in. Both Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) and Firefox 2 come with such features and it’s easy to check that they’re turned on and working properly.

In IE7, go to the Tools menu in the right-hand corner of the top toolbar and aim your mouse pointer at where it says ‘Phishing Filter’ in the dropdown menu. If you can see an entry that reads ‘Turn off automatic website checking’, that means the phishing filter is already active and looking for fakes. If not, select ‘Turn on automatic website checking’ and click OK in the box that appears.

In Firefox 2, go to Tools and select Options and then choose the Security tab. In the top section of this window, make sure there’s a tick in the box next to where it says ‘Tell me if the site I’m using is a suspected forgery’ and put a check next to ‘Check using a downloaded list of suspected sites’.