With inflation, the cost of going back to school increases: according to a study by the Generations Institute
To avoid being trapped (in the context of the purchase of supplies but also of any other purchase), some good practices are to be updated. The first instinct would be to go to sites already known, where purchases have already been made in due form. Pay attention to the URL address: some resemble, within a letter or a mistake, the spelling of a real site. In July 2022 alone, almost 1,000 fraudulent French domain names (with .fr at the end) were registered and recall the name of major brands: for example “aliecpress” for Aliexpress, “castortama” instead of Castorama etc. . Passing the mouse cursor over the link without clicking on it helps to flush out the error. Moreover, while the “s” at the end of the “https” preceding the URL has long been a security indicator, this is no longer necessarily the case today: according to cybersecurity expert PhishLabs, more and more hackers use these certificates to deceive Internet users and make them believe that they are on a secure site. To get an idea of the reliability of a site, it is possible to collect opinions on specialized sites, such as Verified Reviews or TrustPilot.
Finally, it is also advisable to look at your bank account: Daniel Markuson of NordVPN recommends, for example, having a separate account, with small amounts devoted to purchases on the Internet (such as school supplies), or even a card separate credit. It is also possible to regularly monitor your bank account to see if there are any suspicious movements, and to oppose it with your bank if necessary. Also watch out for deals that are too good to be true: ridiculously low prices are usually a sign of a scam.
