How to shop safely on Temu. [Holiday Shopping Tips from an IT support provider: 2023]

by Jon Lober | NOC Technology

Too good to be true? Are Temu's deals legit or a scam?

This holiday season, a new player will be competing for your wallet's attention—Temu. Defined by cheap products and nearly unbelievable discounts, the Chinese shopping site will certainly appear near the top of your search results throughout the 2023 holiday shopping season with nearly irresistible bargains.

In a short time, Temu has captured a vocal and enthusiastic fan base, however, the site has also garnered some unwanted attention due to subpar quality products, possible human right violations, knockoff goods, and a dubious delivery record. To make matters worse, early in 2023 its sister company Pinduoduo was found to be using aggressive malware to spy on its users, casting a dark shadow over the bright fun of Temu’s home page.

Though intense scrutiny from the US government may allay the fears of some users, many IT professionals remain concerned about the possibility of data mining due to the number of permissions requested by the app - not to mention its corporate connection to a known data-privacy violator.

Temu is clearly aware of its reputation, a prominent “Temu keeps you safe” banner at the top of the page currently emphasizes “Safe Payments, Secure logistics, Secure privacy, and Purchase protection”. Clicking the banner takes shoppers to a page that feigns to answer “How is Temu able to offer lower prices than others?” This is a question that has been taken up by others… who have arrived at notably different conclusions.

Regardless of these concerns, many shoppers will be unable to resist the opportunity to “Save up to $100” for “End of Season Clearance,” or “Save up to 90%” on must-have items like a $12.59 Smart Watch, a roll of $0.98 Nanometer Magic Tape, a $17.78 Shark Blanket for Adults, or a $1.61 Running Rat cat toy.

Is it safe to shop on Temu?

Temu and its sister companies have been accused of a wide variety of security and ethics violations, including data mining, unsafe apps, fake goods, false advertising, and even human rights violations. The jury is still out by most cybersecurity professionals, so if you decide to go ahead and shop on Temu during this holiday season, be careful and keep your expectations reasonable!

Tips for Safe Shopping on Temu

If you decide that you want to take the plunge and try Temu for the first time, here is what we recommend.

1. Do not download the Temu App. Most of the privacy concerns surrounding Temu’s partner companies are related to apps. Even if the app is currently available in the App Store and Play Store, we recommend sticking to the main website.

2. Do not reuse an important password for your Temu login. Temu is undoubtedly already a target for hackers, simply due to its number of users. Couple that fact with Temu’s doubtful security profile, and you have a strong reason to be very careful with private information like passwords that can be stolen and used to access your other account. Better yet, NEVER reuse a password anywhere!

3. Only access Temu by navigating to it through your browser. Do not click on ads, email links, or social media posts to access Temu. Such links could easily be phishing attempts that can redirect you to an insecure or spoofed version of the site. The main Temu site is https://www.temu.com. Any other root site in your navigation bar indicates that you are on a suspicious site.

4. Maintain reasonable expectations about the quality and legitimacy of the goods you purchase on Temu. Although many happy customers may be posting about how they shopped like a billionaire on Temu and received an awesome haul at their doorstep, many others have been disappointed by what they pulled out of the orange bag.

5. Do your research. Earlier this year, we took a deeper look into the allegations behind Temu in order to answer the question plaguing the internet—is Temu legit? Read our post to learn what you might be getting into if you decide to shop on Temu this holiday season.