Issue date: Dec 5, 1999

In this article:
Consumers don't want to divulge personal data
Companies are acting to calm consumers' fears
4 ways to protect yourself while e-shopping

By Dennis McCafferty

Online shopping is generating the biggest buzz in cyberspace, with up to a record $9.5 billion in sales forecast for this holiday season. But many consumers still harbor reservations about sharing private data over the Internet.

HOW YOU VOTED IN THIS NATIONAL DEBATE
Is the convenience of shopping online worth the risk that personal information won't be secure on the internet?
YES	NO
25%	75%
Results are not scientific. Click here for online poll results and commentary

So say the majority of readers who responded to the latest USA WEEKEND call-in. Three quarters of voters in our November National Debate said the convenience of shopping online isn't worth the risk that personal information may not be secure. "Companies large and small collect your personal info to be used as they see fit," one survey participant wrote.

Says Peter Tippett, an Internet-security expert in Reston, Va., who has consulted for the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff: "There's still a feeling that a lot of wild, wild West stuff is happening out there."

An upcoming study shows many consumers don't want to divulge personal data -- what books they read, their waist size -- simply because "it's being stored somewhere," says study author Erik Gordon, a University of Florida business professor. "It's obvious to anyone who sees them when they buy clothes in a store, of course. On these sites, however, it's this thought that scares them: Next to my name in a computer is 'size large.' "

Consumers remain especially wary when it comes to giving out credit-card data. New research reveals that nearly 7 in 10 consumers believe it's safer to pay for online purchases with checks or money orders. But for the first six months of 1999, more than 4,750 complaints of online fraud stemmed from check or money order purchases, as opposed to fewer than 110 from credit-card purchases, says the National Consumers League.

So how safe is Web shopping? "Very," says Jean Sherman Chatzky, a USA WEEKEND contributing editor and editor at large for Money. "It's at least as safe as, if not safer than, handing off your credit card to another person or giving your card number over the phone."

Companies are acting to calm consumers' fears. Many e-tailers now flash padlock icons to reassure shoppers that transactions are safe. Travelocity.com provides a "Shop Safe Guarantee" so its members are not held liable for unauthorized purchases. Cybersource's fraud screen, used by Amazon.com, Nike and more than 800 other online retailers, red-flags risky transactions by matching credit-card data with customers' e-mail addresses and scouring for suspicious activity. (According to Chatzky, credit-card customers are limited to $50 in losses -- possibly less if they report theft or fraud to the card company within 48 hours.)

The Better Business Bureau extensively monitors online retailers for the trustworthiness of their posted privacy policies. If the e-tailers pass online spot checks, they get a BBB "seal." The bureau expects to approve more than 1,000 companies within a year.

Ultimately, it's about trust -- on Main Street or on e-street. "Cyberspace is still a brand-new place for many people," says Thomas Vartanian, an American Bar Association e-business law expert. "It's like any place you walk into. You feel your way around at first. The sites need to create a clear sense of security. We can put a cop on every site and there can still be fraud."

Go to the top

• Create passwords with nonsensical combinations of letters, numbers and symbols (for example, tY8%uX). Your account is only as secure as its password.


• Read the company's privacy policy carefully and see if it has earned a seal of approval from the Better Business Bureau online at bbbonline.org.


• Verify the company's listed mailing address/telephone numbers through phone directories and online resources such as Switchboard.com.


• Never give your Social Security number. Why would the company need it?

Sources: Better Business Bureau, GTE Directories Corp., ICSA.net