Rockford BBB: Here’s What To Watch Out For On Cyber Monday

As you probably already know, today is Cyber Monday, which is always the first Monday after Thanksgiving. I say "always" like Cyber Monday has been around forever, but it's only been called that since 2005.

While Cyber Monday was, for a short period of time, only on the Monday that followed Thanksgiving, Cyber Monday now extends up to a week or more.

The First Few Days After Thanksgiving Offer Some Great Deals, But Beware Of Who You're Dealing With

Dennis Horton, Director of the Rockford Regional Office of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) points out that Cyber Monday is one of the top shopping days of the entire year, and a time period that we all need to be extra careful when we're doing our online shopping:

Con artists will be working very hard to deceive you out of your hard-earned money, so be sure to watch out for phony emails, misleading ads, fake websites and too-good-to-be-true prices.

Watch Out For Phony Websites And False Advertising

The Rockford BBB warns that if a company is selling the hottest item of the year at a
price that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Watch out for false advertising and keep a close eye on the web address in your browser.

Scammers love to create lookalike websites that, at first glance, appear to belong to a trusted retailer. Make sure websites use the correct spelling of a business name and have legitimate contact information and customer service numbers.

Here Are A Few More Things To Focus On While You Cyber-Shop

The fake websites and false advertising are the big things to watch out for, but the Rockford BBB says there's more to it than just that. Here's some more things that you should be doing while online shopping in 2021:

• Shop with trusty sellers on secure sites
• Keep your anti-virus software up to date
• Price check before you buy
• Use your credit card, not your debit card
• Take advantage of rewards and loyalty programs
• Make sure you understand return and/or exchange policies