This Valentines, Stay Safe with BigPay

It's the season of love, so we're sharing with you how much love could actually cost you (if you’re not careful). 😲

Cupid strikes once again, making us feel warm and fuzzy in the month of love. You’re bound to do a little more shopping than usual. 🛍️ It’s okay, we get it, it’s the easiest way to show our loved ones we care by showering them with gifts or booking a staycation. 😉

While we’re in the magic of love it’s important to be vigilant and watch out for online scams as fraudsters are always prowling for their next victim. Wondering what kind of scams? 🤔

It might look something like this:

Source: World of Buzz

At BigPay, keeping you safe is our top priority. 💙

Beyond dedicated teams that work behind the scenes to keep your money safe, we’ve shared ways to keep yourself from online scams, but there are additional steps that you can take to protect yourself from fraudsters. To further help you steer clear from trouble, we’ve also shared some tips on our social media to help you stay safe.

To keep yourself safe this Valentines, here’s what you can do:

Shop from trusted sites. 🆗

You should only buy items online if you know the person behind the screens or have an existing buyer-seller relationship. ✔️

When shopping online, the payment method is often via online banking. However, if you do not know the person behind the screens, you're at risk of being scammed.

Beware of shopping from sellers you are not familiar with, it's easy to set up an online profile with a fake name, which means you have no clue who you're sending money to. As soon as you've sent money to the scammer, their standard move is to block you and leave you helpless. 😔 So let's avoid that.

Read the reviews. 👓

We all have read reviews saying "I will never buy from that seller ever again"! It's worth spending some time to dig deeper and spot a pattern in the seller's reviews. That gives you a better understanding of whether it's a customer service, delivery or product issue.

It's work the detective work to see if the reviews are fake or genuine. Fake reviews usually sound repetitive.

Pay by card 💳

It’s a safer option compared to online transfers. ✔️

So you’ve found that perfect Valentine’s gift for your loved one, great! Pick your item, add it to your shopping and check out. When it’s time to hit the ‘pay’ button, opt to pay via card, especially on e-commerce sites. Paying by card gives you the added layer of protection if the items you’ve picked out turns out to be fake or never arrives.

If you pay someone you don't know by online bank transfer, it's almost impossible to get your money back due to the fact they might have quickly moved the money to another account. Paying via debit cards gives you the option to raise a dispute with us if you can't come to an agreement with the seller. It might take up to two months to get your money back, while both sides collect evidence.

Trust your gut feeling 💯

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. ✔️

Sometimes, it all comes down to listening to your inner voice too. Ask yourself if you really can trust a stranger selling you an expensive item that you can find in stores or elsewhere. If you even have a hinge of doubt, do not proceed. After all, it's safe to say prevention is better than cure, right?

What do you do if you suspect you’re a victim of online scams?

If you suspect you've fallen victim to scams on your BigPay card all you need to do is hit the ‘freeze’ button. 🥶 Your card will be inactive immediately, no one will be able to use your card.