Midstate law enforcement officers offer online safety shopping tips
Fort Valley police Capt. Jerrell Smith was a victim of an online shopping scam.
He visited what turned out to be a fake website and ordered a purse for his wife that never arrived. The fake website was an exact replica of a well-known and legitimate site.
Smith landed on the site when using a search engine to find the best price on the brand-name pocketbook.
He said he shared his experience because he doesn't want others to fall prey to online scammers, especially during the holiday season when online shopping is more prevalent.
"That's one way to combat these kind of crimes, these type of incidents, is for the public to be knowledgeable," Smith said.
Many shoppers opt to buy online during the holiday season to avoid long lines and crowded stores.
Smith's experience, though, left him gun-shy of shopping online. His bank covered the financial loss of the purse that he bought with his debit card.
He closed that account as a precaution.
Now he's offering safety tips to those who shop online: Shop on known, trusted sites and always use an established third-party account to make purchases.
Some tips that a website might not be legitimate include the absence of sales-support contact information, email contact information that is different from the website domain and multiple grammar or spelling errors on the site.
Bibb County sheriff's Lt. Randy Gonzalez also offered some online shopping tips, including being careful not to input too much information on a website account such as a birthday or Social Security number.
"You may want to be just cautious about giving out that kind of information, because if someone does hack into your account on that website that you chose to order on, they can get that information," Gonzalez said.
Also officials advise people to access their bank and credit card accounts online and check them often.
"You are going to be familiar with the charges you are making on your account," Gonzalez said. "Just frequently check it during the week so you'll ... notice anything like any charges you haven't made on your account."
He also suggested not using public computers to shop online.
"If you don't have access to your own personal computer or laptop, like if you are in a store shopping online or in a public facility somewhere like a library, just be careful," Gonzalez said.
The same caution applies when using public Wi-Fi on your personal laptop or mobile device. Avoid financial transactions and accessing financial and other personal accounts on a public Wi-Fi if possible.
Finally, include in the shipping information a request for a package not to be left if no one is home to take the delivery. Thieves like to walk off with unattended packages left on front porches.
To contact writer Becky Purser, call 256-9559, or find her on Twitter@becpurser.
This story was originally published December 6, 2015 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Midstate law enforcement officers offer online safety shopping tips ."