How to shop online safely: a simple checklist for Baby Boomers
Online shopping has genuine advantages. You can browse from home, compare prices across multiple stores in minutes, avoid busy car parks, and often find items that simply aren’t available locally. For many Baby Boomers, it’s become a regular and convenient part of life.
But the concern about whether a website is trustworthy is completely valid. Fake online shops do exist, and some of them are impressively convincing. The goal of this article is to give you a clear, practical checklist you can run through before entering any payment details — so you can enjoy the convenience of online shopping without the worry.
The before-you-buy checklist
Run through these checks before you make any purchase from a website you haven’t used before.
Check the web address. Look at the address bar at the top of your browser. A trustworthy shopping site will have an address beginning with https:// (the ‘s’ stands for secure). You’ll also usually see a small padlock icon in the address bar. This doesn’t guarantee a site is legitimate, but the absence of it is a red flag.
Also look carefully at the domain name itself — the main part of the address. Scammers sometimes create addresses that look similar to real stores but with small differences. “harveynnorman.com.au” or “kmart-australia.com” are not the real Harvey Norman or Kmart sites.
Check for contact details. A legitimate business will have a physical address, a phone number, and a customer service email address displayed somewhere on the site — usually in the footer or on an About page. If you can’t find any contact information, or the only contact option is a form, be cautious.
Look at the reviews — but carefully. Most genuine retailers have reviews, either on their own site or on Google. Search for the store name plus the word “reviews” or “scam” and see what comes up. Reviews that all sound similar, use awkward language, or were all posted within a short timeframe may be fake.
Be suspicious of prices that seem too good. If a brand-new product is being sold for 70% less than everywhere else, that’s a warning sign. Scammers attract buyers with prices that seem irresistible.
Check when the website was created. You can look up a website’s age using free tools like who.is — just type the web address and search. A website that was registered last month selling luxury goods at big discounts is a major red flag.
Look for a clear returns policy. Reputable online retailers explain clearly how to return items and get refunds. If a site has no returns policy or a very unusual one, be wary.
Safe payment methods
Even when you’re confident a site is genuine, how you pay matters.
Credit cards offer the best protection for online shopping. If something goes wrong — you don’t receive your item, or the site turns out to be fraudulent — your credit card provider can reverse the charge through a process called a chargeback.
PayPal also offers buyer protection and is widely accepted.
Debit cards offer less protection than credit cards, because chargebacks from debit accounts can be more complicated.
Never pay by bank transfer, gift cards, or cryptocurrency for an online purchase. These payment methods offer no protection at all, and requesting them is a strong sign of fraud.
Stick to retailers you know when possible
The safest online shopping happens on websites you already know and trust — the online versions of stores that exist in real life, major established retailers, or Australian government agencies.
When you’re buying from a new or unfamiliar site, run through the checklist above. When something doesn’t feel right, trust that instinct and move on. There will always be another place to buy what you’re looking for.
What to do if something goes wrong
If you suspect you’ve been scammed by a fake website, act quickly. Contact your bank or credit card provider and explain what happened — ask about reversing the transaction. Change your email and banking passwords if you entered them on the suspect site. Report the fake website to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au, which helps protect others.
Acting promptly gives you the best chance of recovering any money lost and preventing further misuse of your details.
Online shopping is genuinely safe when you know what to look for. A little knowledge before you click Buy is all the protection you need.
Cyber Safe & Confident includes this shopping checklist along with many other practical guides for safe online activity — all written in plain English with no assumption of technical knowledge.
How to shop online safely: a simple checklist for Baby Boomers
Online shopping has genuine advantages. You can browse from home, compare prices across multiple stores in minutes, avoid busy car parks, and often find items that simply aren’t available locally. For many Baby Boomers, it’s become a regular and convenient part of life.
But the concern about whether a website is trustworthy is completely valid. Fake online shops do exist, and some of them are impressively convincing. The goal of this article is to give you a clear, practical checklist you can run through before entering any payment details — so you can enjoy the convenience of online shopping without the worry.
The before-you-buy checklist
Run through these checks before you make any purchase from a website you haven’t used before.
Check the web address. Look at the address bar at the top of your browser. A trustworthy shopping site will have an address beginning with https:// (the ‘s’ stands for secure). You’ll also usually see a small padlock icon in the address bar. This doesn’t guarantee a site is legitimate, but the absence of it is a red flag.
Also look carefully at the domain name itself — the main part of the address. Scammers sometimes create addresses that look similar to real stores but with small differences. “harveynnorman.com.au” or “kmart-australia.com” are not the real Harvey Norman or Kmart sites.
Check for contact details. A legitimate business will have a physical address, a phone number, and a customer service email address displayed somewhere on the site — usually in the footer or on an About page. If you can’t find any contact information, or the only contact option is a form, be cautious.
Look at the reviews — but carefully. Most genuine retailers have reviews, either on their own site or on Google. Search for the store name plus the word “reviews” or “scam” and see what comes up. Reviews that all sound similar, use awkward language, or were all posted within a short timeframe may be fake.
Be suspicious of prices that seem too good. If a brand-new product is being sold for 70% less than everywhere else, that’s a warning sign. Scammers attract buyers with prices that seem irresistible.
Check when the website was created. You can look up a website’s age using free tools like who.is — just type the web address and search. A website that was registered last month selling luxury goods at big discounts is a major red flag.
Look for a clear returns policy. Reputable online retailers explain clearly how to return items and get refunds. If a site has no returns policy or a very unusual one, be wary.
Safe payment methods
Even when you’re confident a site is genuine, how you pay matters.
Credit cards offer the best protection for online shopping. If something goes wrong — you don’t receive your item, or the site turns out to be fraudulent — your credit card provider can reverse the charge through a process called a chargeback.
PayPal also offers buyer protection and is widely accepted.
Debit cards offer less protection than credit cards, because chargebacks from debit accounts can be more complicated.
Never pay by bank transfer, gift cards, or cryptocurrency for an online purchase. These payment methods offer no protection at all, and requesting them is a strong sign of fraud.
Stick to retailers you know when possible
The safest online shopping happens on websites you already know and trust — the online versions of stores that exist in real life, major established retailers, or Australian government agencies.
When you’re buying from a new or unfamiliar site, run through the checklist above. When something doesn’t feel right, trust that instinct and move on. There will always be another place to buy what you’re looking for.
What to do if something goes wrong
If you suspect you’ve been scammed by a fake website, act quickly. Contact your bank or credit card provider and explain what happened — ask about reversing the transaction. Change your email and banking passwords if you entered them on the suspect site. Report the fake website to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au, which helps protect others.
Acting promptly gives you the best chance of recovering any money lost and preventing further misuse of your details.
Online shopping is genuinely safe when you know what to look for. A little knowledge before you click Buy is all the protection you need.
Cyber Safe & Confident includes this shopping checklist along with many other practical guides for safe online activity — all written in plain English with no assumption of technical knowledge.