How can I check whether a website is secure/reliable?

These days, we spend more and more time browsing the Internet, whether for shopping, information or banking transactions. However, not all sites are secure or reliable, which can lead to problems in terms of security and confidentiality.

Some very vicious scammers take advantage of the slightest inattention to deceive you. They'll go so far as to reproduce official websites identically, or at least not very closely, in order to cheat you out of money.

To find out whether the website you are browsing is secure and reliable, there are a number of tips and things to check. Here are the main checkpoints:

1. The HTTPS protocol

If you shop on the internet, make sure that the site you use is reliable. The first thing to do is check that the protocol is HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure). The HTTPS protocol ensures the security of your sensitive data, such as passwords and payment card numbers.

It is located in your URL bar in front of the name of the website you are visiting, and is always accompanied by a small padlock which proves that a security certificate is in place. Clicking on this padlock will give you more information about it.

1- Certificate padlock / 2 - Protocol / 3 - Domain name

2. The quality of the site

A large number of spelling, conjugation and grammatical errors are a sign that a site is unreliable. Serious sites have no mistakes in their content. So if you find any words or phrases in a foreign language, beware - it's probably an unsecured site.

Try to click on all the logos on the home page of the website you are visiting, try the social networks for example. If the redirections are not good or if the links are not clickable, be wary. It's not uncommon for you to be redirected to sites in a foreign language, so you can imagine that this too is a sign of the unreliability of the site you're analysing.

3. General terms and conditions of sale

General terms and conditions of sale must appear on an e-commerce site. If they are missing, don't waste any more time on this site.

General terms and conditions of sale, or GTCS, govern the relationship between suppliers and their customers. They specify the terms of the exchange between the supplier and the customer and the details of the purchase. They protect suppliers and customers in the event of disputes, and determine the liability of each party. For all these reasons, they are mandatory on all sites that sell online (online shops, online services, service booking sites, etc.).

It includes details of :

• Terms of delivery,

• Discount policy,

• Payment methods accepted,

• The terms and conditions of repayment...

The terms and conditions must be easily identifiable by customers and must be accepted by them before any purchase. An e-commerce site without general terms and conditions of sale is not up to standard.

4. Legal information

The legal notices must enable you to clearly identify the person responsible for the site. All sites, whether professional or not, must display them.

They make it easy to contact the site managers in the event of a dispute. Like the general terms and conditions of sale, they must be easy for customers to access. They are generally placed at the bottom of the page, on a separate page or in PDF format.

In the legal notices you will find :

• The identity of the site publisher

• Contact details for the site editor (surname, first name, address, etc.)

• Information about the company

Failure to comply with the legal information may result in a fine.

Here's where the general terms and conditions and legal notices are usually located on a secure site

5. Proposed tariffs

Don't hesitate to compare the price offered on various other official product sites to find out whether the price charged on the product you want to buy is alarming or not.

Generally speaking, when prices are very low for items usually offered at high prices, they are counterfeit. It's also generally a bad sign when excessive discounts are offered, usually around 60% off.

Shop in total security with Obvy

In this consumer society, scammers will use any means to extort money from you. It's up to you to remain vigilant when you make an online purchase, and even more so when it's a transaction between private individuals.

To make your transactions between private individuals as secure as possible, choose Obvy. Not only will you be armed against counterfeit goods, but also against all kinds of other scams such as payment scams, carrier scams (DHL, Chronopost...)...

In addition to verifying the identity of our users, our teams do everything possible to protect you against scams and to give you the best possible customer experience.