Banners, Ads, and Discount Links: Knowing The Warning Signs

Many popular websites, especially social media platforms, collect data from its users to show them ads that are especially tailored to them. Most trusted websites try to keep scams, phishing sites, and possible data hackers at bay, but they can only control so much. Plenty of sketchy ads find their way to your feed every day. Because they’re using your specific interests to find options you may be interested in, scamming websites can mimic these and finagle their way into your line of vision. We will teach you some of the warning signs, but sometimes these can be tricky, so if you fall for one, call Total Tech Care 360 immediately for assistance.

Unprofessional Graphics as warning signs

If the banner, link, or ad that’s displaying on your screen has an unprofessional looking thumbnail representing it, then it’s probably best not to click on it. Legitimate ads will want to put their best foot forward. They’ll have a clear, crisp photo representing them, and it will just have a trusted feel to it. If your stomach drops a little before clicking on something, because you think it might not be safe, then follow your instinct. Don’t click! Scam sites tend to use blurry or pixelated images. They also opt for cheap looking computer animated graphics. If it looks like something you could make in 30 seconds on your own computer with no previous design experience, then it’s probably a scam. If it looks blurry enough to be an uploaded digital camera image from 2001, then it’s probably a scam. Be smart and look for those warning signs. If it looks wrong, it probably is wrong.

Website Legitimacy as warning signs

So you clicked on the ad anyway and now you’re on the webpage. How does it look? Here’s where you need to be very skeptical. Pay close attention to shipping and contact details. Make sure they have clear contact information, this means they should have a location listed, an email, and a phone number. Bonus points if they have social media links. Check out their stuff if they do. Look at how many followers they have, but don’t let that be the deciding factor as businesses often buy followers. Look at how many photos they have posted and how long the account has been active. To check this, look at the date on the first photo posted. If they don’t have very many photos, then it may not be legit. If they have a bunch of photos, but you can see that they were all posted this week, then it may not be legit.

Another way to check the site’s legitimacy is to pretend to check out. Look at your shipping options. If they don’t give you an estimated date of arrival, then it’s probably a scam. Most, if not all sites that offer shipping will give you an estimated time of arrival. They should also have some sort of return policy listed on the check out screen. Finally, look at the shipping rates. If they seem beyond standard, then once again, it’s probably a scam.

At Total Tech Care 360 we commit to help and assist you if you ever find yourself in a situation that you are not sure about an ad or a websites. Please feel free to reach out and one of our agents will gladly answer any questions. For more helpful reads visit our other posts: Click Here