Kirsty Newman 20:20, 2 Sep 2004 (EST)
E-commerce allows organizations and people to do business online by themselves. There are no regulations or laws to protect consumers and sellers, and the online market is a flexible place to exchange goods and services. However, this also brings some risks to consumers. Consumers may meet some fraudulent or deceptive people or firms online. They may also lose their important personal information when they exchange with the seller. Also, they may pay the money but not get what they need or what they want. Because of the uncertain market, risks to consumers are increasing.
If the risks to consumers keep increasing, then it may affect the economy of the cyberspace, and it may also affect the world economy since e-commerce has become part of the mainstream of world economy. Although the number of people doing e-commerce is rising all over the world, the most important concern is to make the market place open to the public, set some rules and regulations for organisations and consumers, and then reduce the risk to consumers(University of Oklahoma Police Department, 2004.
Credit card fraud is the biggest risk for online consumers, as people use credit cards in the e-commerce transaction. Online retailers can be cheated by a thief using a stolen or fake credit card, and also online consumers’ private information can be stolen and used to make purchases.
In the traditional way of businesses, people can verify a signature to prove the authenticity of the payment, however, in the cyberspace, there is no such protection for consumers. Online consumers only type their names, and credit numbers in the webpage, and they never know how the retailers will use their information.
The main reason credit card fraud caused in e-commerce transaction is due to the anonymity of the entire transaction, a “fraudster� makes purchases without presenting an actual credit card, signing a receipt or being seen.
E-commerce have become victims of repeated, opportunistic, and unsophisticated fraud, which extend the risk for online consumers. According to the survey of 800 e-retailers in the UK state that “two thirds of survey participants reported that their organizations routinely took more than a month to detect credit card fraud, and 18% took up to two month� that can prove credit crad fraud is a serious risk in the online business process.
Credit card fraud is more likely to occur during a traditional business way, which conumers card disappears from their sight, as when consumers pays the bill in restaurant that, the risk is not just that consumers might be charged for a second meal, credit cards can be swiped legitimately for the tab and then swiped a second time in an illegal device that records the number, which can reproduced on the fake cards, and the consumers will not know it until get the payment in the end of the month.
The most serious risk in e-commerce is credit card fraud that consumers’ information was stolen for repoduced a fake cards, however, there are some protection for online consumers which discuss in the next sub-topic.
Brune, C. (2000) ‘Combating e-crime’, The Internal Auditor. Altamonte Springs: Vol.57, Issue. 6; page. 13, 3 pages, [Online] Available: Link(2000, December).
Chiam, M. (2004) ‘Eliminating Some Credit Card Risk for e-Business’, [Online] Available: Link.
Saul Hansell N.Y. Times News Service (1997) ‘Fighting software theft’, Journal Record. Oklahoma City, Okla, page. 1, [Online] Available: Link(1997, December 22).
Google (2004), Carlos A. Primo Braga (2004) “E-Commerce Regulation: New Game, New Rules?� retrieved April 2004, from Link.
Metcalfe, L. (2004) ‘How Safe is Online Shopping’, [Online] Available: Link.
Next sub-topic--Consumer Protection
Leung Sum Yee 12:53, 21 Oct 2004 (EST)
E-commerce_and_the_Law
