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The internet has certainly made our lives easier, but as we navigate our way through the new online way of doing things we need to be cautious, too. Shopping for clothes online means we have to be aware of some things we might normally not be in a store, but we’ve found some easy ways to protect yourself.

Online clothing stores are a great alternative for everyone, whether you’re too time poor to head to the mall, want a greater variety of clothes to choose from, or want to benefit from the discounted prices found online, there are certainly plenty of benefits. All of these advantages come at a price though, as it seems to be increasingly more difficult to keep yourself and your finances protected when you shop online.

These days, it’s fairly easy to see what stores are reputable and know whether or not they’re worthy of your business. But in addition to being aware of what’s out there, there are some simple things you can check off in your mind to ensure that you’re having the safest shopping experience possible at these online clothing stores. With eight out of 10 Americans now doing some form of shopping online, there’s never been a better time to get savvy.

10

Don’t Discount Insurance

This one will depend on what you buy obviously, but for items over $100 it might be worthwhile to look at insurance cover. Some stores will offer insurance protection and other times it may come from the freight carrier, and if not you will need to organize it for yourself. There are a number of things that can happen during transit and even the packing stages, so for a few dollars of protection you can keep your goods safe and guarantee that you won’t lose any money in the process. Remember, you don’t get to hold onto your clothes instantly like you do in a store, so you want something to protect them on their journey to you.

9

Keep Your Deliveries Safe

Not only is the online world a tricky place to maneuver when shopping for clothes online, but you then have to worry about once your packages arrive. Most people enter their address without a second thought, but there is little protection from your goods staying safe until you can get to them. Whether you’re not at home or at work for the day, an unsupervised package can be easily snapped up if it’s left there. Trying to track down a lost or stolen package can be near impossible, and you’ll likely just lose your money altogether. Think ahead and have your delivery sent to where you’ll be or ensure that you’ve selected the right option so that it’s not left out.

8

 Trust Your Gut

Ecommerce stores usually put in a lot of effort to make their websites functional and well designed. If you’re shopping online and come across a site that looks suspicious or as if it hasn’t been designed very well, you should probably trust your gut. There are plenty of scams out there online and it’s easy enough to make a fake ecommerce store and list goods that you have no intention of selling. People can easily take your money or worse still, your bank card details, so you really need to trust your gut when shopping online. Look for obvious errors like spelling mistakes, links that don’t work, and a lack of reviews or feedback from previous customers.

7

Shop On A Private Connection

These days it’s common for people to connect to free Wi-Fi at their favorite restaurants and bars or use the internet connection at the mall. Although this is fine for everyday internet browsing, when you’re entering sensitive information like personal details and financial accounts you should never do shop on a public connection. Online shopping is best reserved for home when you know that you’re on a secure and private connection. It’s very easy for people to hack the phones and computers that connect to public Wi-Fi, so don’t put yourself at risk. When you do have to use your smartphone in public, be sure that you have an anti-virus or security app in place that can offer you some protection.

6

 Keep An Eye On Your Financial Statements

One of the sneakiest ways that people target shoppers online is by using their credit card information. Rather than doing one huge purchase and making it obvious that your card has been stolen, though, they may slowly and discreetly take just small amounts of money at a time in the hopes that you wouldn’t notice. This type of behavior will add up to quite a bit for the thief and especially when they have multiple cards they’re taking money from. To protect yourself, you should check your online banking accounts at least once a week and make sure that you can account for every cent that’s been spent. If you do suspect anything, inform your bank and have your cards canceled and replaced.

5

Consider A Virtual Credit Card Number

People often assume that there’s only one way to shop for clothes online, and that’s to input their very private credit card number. For the purpose of a safe shopping experience, you should use another method when it’s available. If an online store doesn’t offer something like PayPal that will keep your details safe, you may be able to apply for a virtual credit card number. These work like temporary cards that will allow you to make one purchase, and then after a short amount of time they will no longer be valid. This means you buy just the one thing and even if someone gets hold of your card details, they won’t work after you’ve used them and will be virtually useless.

4

 Avoid Links In Emails

Most of us are pretty well versed in how to detect a spam email these days, but occasionally they do slip by us. One of the most cunning ways that these spammers get your attention is to promote a sale or discount that’s happening, in the hopes that you’ll find the offer so attractive you’ll have no choice but to click through. If you do want to check out the store and what they have, do a quick Google search of the store and see if it’s legit. Clicking links that come through in an email can be dangerous as there’s no telling where they’ll lead you and whether or not it could be linked to a virus or malicious site.

3

Look For An HTTPS URL

One simple way to see whether or not you’re shopping safely is to inspect the URL of the store you’re at. Most standard websites will have an HTTP in front of the address, but sites that are secured will have HTTPS. The S stands for SSL or Secure Sockets Layer which means the information sent on the site will be encrypted, like credit card details. Another way to look for safety is to see if there’s a padlock icon down the bottom of the screen, with a closed lock meaning it’s okay to shop there. This applies to both mobile and desktop sites, so get into the habit of checking this every time you shop online or intend to input personal information.

2

Use Security Software And Updates

Any smart computer owner will have their gear protected, and this can be done with a number of software applications. Antivirus software is a must-have in this day and age but there are also other programs that can give you more protection. Shocking reports over the years have shown that almost a third of Americans have no antivirus software at work, and most people don’t have anything protecting their smartphones either. Not only is it essential to use these programs but you’ll have to keep them updated regularly, along with your computer’s operating system, so that they can give you up to date protection.

1

Read The Company’s Privacy Policy

It’s one thing that nobody wants to do, and we’re all guilty of simply skimming through the text and clicking “I Agree” from time to time. When it comes to shopping online though, you really need to be careful about who you’re buying from and what they can do with your information. They may be able to sell your email address to marketers, or worse still you could be agreeing to give them your personal details and financial institution information. In cases where you’ve agreed to such behavior, you may have a hard time getting your money back if the worse should happen.

Food challenges have been around for a long time. And many of them, while being just as impossibly ridiculous as the TidePod Challenge, aren’t as potentially life-threatening and do involve actual food that a lot of people consume on a daily basis. Check out this impossible food challenges list. There’s the milk challenge, the ghost pepper challenge, the saltines challenge, the marshmallow challenge, the cinnamon challenge, the warheads challenge, and the bananas and Sprite challenge. Try some of them out, if you dare. Or maybe just pick truth instead.

7 Impossible Food Challenges List

1. Milk

Every impossible food challenges list includes the age-old chugging of milk challenge. Why? For one, it’s accessible and affordable, you only need one product and you can pick it up pretty much anywhere at any time; milk is something that a large percentage of people consume every day; for some, more than once a day. And two, what could be so hard about drinking a gallon of milk in an hour? Seems like an easy challenge to win. But not so. The issue that arises is that our bodies cannot process that much lactose in such a short period of time. An enzyme within our body, lactase, handles the lactose from the milk, but lactase will dissipate extremely quickly with a gallon of milk.

Probable Result: You will most likely vomit up the milk during the challenge or after.

2. Ghost Pepper

In this challenge, the participants must chew and swallow an entire ghost pepper (or a similar-type pepper like a habanero, but the ghost pepper is commonly referred to as the hottest pepper in the entire world). Based on the size of the pepper, normally not much bigger than a jalapeno, one might think that this would be an effortless task. However, they were not kidding when they deemed the ghost pepper the hottest pepper in the world; it has been cited as being up to 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. And Tabasco sauce is already pretty hot in itself. It ranks in at a whopping 1,000,000 on a Scoville scale, which is a measurement of the strength of chili peppers.

Probable Result: Aside from a burning hot mouth and tears, there are reported cases of more damaging results, such as it putting a hole in a man’s esophagus.

3. Saltines

Nothing like a salty, crunchy, flaky saltine cracker to accompany your soups or to lay the foundation for your favorite dips or cheeses. So one would not think that something as innocent as saltines would be part of the impossible food challenges list. But you’d be wrong. And you be doubly wrong to think that eating six crackers in a minute without water would be a pretty mild challenge to take on. The problem? Simply put, our mouths do not produce enough saliva to handle the dryness of these crackers, therefore eating one per ten seconds is beyond our capacity.

Probable Result: At least one or two crackers will be left uneaten after you’ve given up and asked for water, or you’ll choke trying to get them down.

4. Marshmallows

Everybody loves marshmallows, they’re chewy and gooey and sweet. The perfect snack for anytime. As long as you are swallowing them. For this challenge, participants must try to stuff as many marshmallows in their mouth as they can without swallowing, and then clearly pronounce the phrase “Chubby Bunny.” Judges will determine what is or is not an acceptable pronunciation. This is one of the more difficult ones on the impossible food challenges list because not only do you have to be able to speak during it, marshmallows are not easily dissolved by our saliva, so you are literally stuffing your face.

Probable Result: If you don’t eventually choke on these, you run the risk of suffocating yourself.

5. Cinnamon

The cinnamon challenge is a staple of the impossible food challenges list. Probably because cinnamon flavor is something almost everyone loves. From bagels to French toast to gum, you would think that ingesting cinnamon would be a treat. And just a spoonful in a whole minute? Easy. However, cinnamon powder is so dry that it instantly clears out any saliva in your mouth and then coats it; even just a spoonful is almost impossible to swallow.

Probable Result: Just like any other one of the items in the impossible food challenges list, vomiting is inevitable. However, inhalation is so dangerous to our systems that it can cause breathing problems, irritation, and even lead to a collapsed lung.

6. Warheads

Nothing like a sugary, sweet piece of candy to get you going. This challenge involves ingesting 150 Extreme Sour Warheads in only ten minutes. Other than the risk of cavities, this one might sound pretty easy if you like candy and sours, but it’s not easy for your body to take that much malic acid in all at once.

Probable Result: Bloody tongue, whether or not you even finish them. Other reported cases of loss of taste buds.

7. Bananas and Sprite

Bananas are great in helping to maintain good health; they are high in potassium and fiber. And Sprite, well, it’s not the worst of all soft drinks. But mixing the two together is not great for your health. For this challenge, one must eat two bananas while at the same time drinking a liter of Sprite. Sounds pretty straightforward. However, our bodies are not able to digest both of these simultaneously. The bananas form a blockage wherein the gas from the soda cannot get through.

Probable Result: Your body will eject the substances. Sometimes the challenge is played oppositely: the winner is the one who vomits first.

Summing Up

These are only a few from the impossible food challenges list. There are a ton more out there and new ones created every day. If you are going to attempt one, just make sure you stay as safe as possible and have medical attention handy. Oh and don’t eat laundry detergent. It’s not a food.

Image source: depositphotos.com