Shopping and banking online
Learn who to trust with your hard-earned money and what to do if something goes wrong.
Shopping online
Online shopping is convenient. From clothing and smartphones to train and concert tickets, you can buy almost anything online.
Since you're not seeing goods before you buy, it's especially important to learn how to shop with care, find trusted sellers and assert your rights. The old saying, buyer beware, is more important than ever.
Most sellers reach buyers in one or more of these ways:
- virtual storefront, such as Nike or Zara
- online marketplace, such as Amazon or Steam
- buy/sell or auction site, such as Facebook Marketplace or eBay.
Visit Australian Consumer Law to learn more about your rights.
Protecting yourself when online shoppping
See how the scammers do it, and learn how to keep your money safe.
PayID scam
Scammers have learned to exploit online buyers and sellers and banks are warning their customers about common scams, such as the PayID fraud. For more about the PayID scam, visit NAB and Australian Mutual Bank.
Security and reviews
Security
Always check the security of a website if you're paying online. Do this by looking for https:// and a padlock symbol next to the address in your browser. The 's' is important – it indicates your data is secure and the website can be trusted.
If you're collecting a purchase and paying in cash, take an adult with you.
Visit the eSafety Commissioner for more on online shopping.
Reviews
You can find information about almost anything you want to buy on the internet, but finding unbiased reviews can be challenging. It's a smart move to talk to and learn from your friends and family about their experiences when they buy goods and services online.
Your rights
When you buy online from an Australian-based seller you're covered by Australian consumer law. That means if you buy goods that don't work or break easily, or are very different to what you were expecting, you're entitled to a remedy.
What that remedy is – a refund, repair, exchange or similar – depends on how bad the problem is. You also have protections if you're buying secondhand.
Visit Youth Law Australia for more about your rights when you shop online.
Banking online
Online banking allows you to stay informed and in control of your money. Using an app or the internet, you can:
- track money coming in and out of your accounts
- make payments for goods and services online
- transfer funds to other people.
Mobile banking makes it much easier for you to do banking when you're out of the house.
Tips for keeping your money safe online
1
Choose the right accounts
To protect your money and privacy you should be able to:
- keep track of your transactions and balances in real-time
- choose online-only statements
- receive security notifications
- set payment limits
- report lost or stolen cards.
This means it's important to keep your online bank accounts secure. There are some simple precautions you can take.
2
Keep your accounts secure
Follow these tips to protect yourself from fraud:
- Choose a strong, unique password for each account, see choosing good passwords.
- Select a totally random PIN: no postcodes, birthdates, or other significant dates someone could guess.
- Set up multi-factor authentication on all your accounts where possible.
- Never use public wi-fi networks when you're doing online banking. You could expose your personal information to strangers on the same network.
- Use a separate email for online banking.
- Always log out of the bank's website when you're finished.
Remember, your bank won't ever send you an email with a link asking you to enter your account details. See spotting and avoiding scams.
Visit cyber.gov.au to learn about recovering compromised bank accounts.