Reputable suppliers
Reputable suppliers offer legitimate products and services without fraudulent intentions.
It is difficult to know whether or not an online supplier is reputable, as technology makes it possible to create websites anonymously at little cost.
Signs that a supplier is reputable
- If the supplier is publicly known and recognized as reputable (major store chains, such as Archambault and Future Shop, companies that are given a lot of media coverage, such as Expedia, etc.)
- If it uses an intermediary that offers the services of a reputable online payment service
- If it is recognized by reputable agencies, such as the Office de la protection du consommateur and the Better Business Bureau
CAUTION: A small supplier that is not well known may also be reputable even if it uses a less well known intermediary. You simply have to be extra careful by checking as many details as possible.
Caution
A fraudster may:
- Pretend to have a reputable company and post products for sale in order to steal your personal information
- Sell and send products legitimately but subsequently use your personal information fraudulently
- Install spywares, a Trojan horse or another malware on your computer without your knowledge and use it for fraudulent purposes
How can you protect yourself?
The safest way to protect yourself is to only deal with suppliers that you know and trust.
If you want to deal with a supplier you do not know, here are some examples of checks that you can do:
- Make sure the company has a valid SSL certificate for secure payments
- Look for the company on the website of the Office de la protection du consommateur du Québec for Québec companies
- Check whether the company appears in the Enterprise Register of Québec for Québec companies
- Check whether the company is a member of their local Better Business Bureau and meets the standards of the BBBOnline Seal
- Use a search engine such as Google to find out whether the company appears on well-known websites and read about them
- Get the opinions of people who have made transactions with this company by visiting comparison websites such as Epinions or Bizrate
References
- On-line Shopping Assistant – Canada's Office of Consumer Affairs
