Online shopping has become more and more popular over time since it is convenient, fast, and easy. However, I'ts important to know how to shop safely so you can avoid online shopping scams.

The scammers are very smart. Before you buy anything online, especially on Facebook and Instagram, ensure that you look at the factors below; 

1. Too good to be true prices

Be suspicious of deals with unbelievably low prices that seem to be too good to be true.

If a deal that sounds too good to be true shows up in your inbox, it could be a phishing scam that is taking advantage of your need to save. If a link in your inbox looks fishy, rather than click on it, you should visit the official site of the store to verify whether the deal is real or not.

2. Lack of physical location

More often than not, if a vendor selling their wares online has a physical store, it is less likely that they’ll be out to con or scam you.

In addition to that, if an online store doesn't provide any of their contact information, be very careful.

3.  Refund policy

Check whether the shop has a refund, cancellation, delivery, or any other policy because if they don't and they keep pressuring you to pay before delivery just run.

4. Do they have a Mpesa till number?

This is very important since asking where you are going to send money is really frustrating.

 However to avoid scams and being conned, ask for a pay bill number.

A business that has gone the extra mile to register an M-pesa pay bill number for online transactions shows they take their business seriously.

5. Reviews and comments

Take the time to read through reviews by other buyers and comments left by other users. Be keen to note the tone of replies by both the person managing the page and the users who are interacting with the page.

Disabling comments is also a big red flag and if you see this, don't shop there.

6. Changing their Usernames

If you notice that an online store keeps changing its name be very vigilant because they might have been scamming people.

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