BBB cautions consumers to be careful shopping online

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Author: St. Charles Business Record Staff

Story Type: News

The Consumer Fraud Task Force, a joint task force of federal and state law enforcement agencies and the Better Business Bureau, is urging consumers to use caution when purchasing online this holiday season.

The Internet can make holiday shopping easier and faster. Almost $16 billion in retail sales occurred online in 2004, but there also can be dangers if you're not careful. The task force urges consumers to use the following tips to make their online shopping experience a safe and happy one.

* Be sure to check out unfamiliar companies with the BBB and your state consumer protection offices. Don't buy things in response to unsolicited e-mails from unknown companies as these may be fraudulent.

* Look for signs that online purchases are secure. At the point that you are providing your payment information, the beginning of the Web site address should change from http to shttp or https, indicating that the information is being encrypted - or turned into code that can only be read by the seller. Your browser may also signal that information is secure with a symbol, such as a broken key that becomes whole or a padlock that closes.

* It's best to pay for your purchase with a debit or credit card, especially when your purchase will be delivered later, because under federal law you can dispute the charges if you don't receive what was promised. You also have a right to dispute unauthorized charges on your credit card, and many cards have "zero liability" policies under which you pay nothing if someone steals your credit card number and uses it.

* Federal law requires orders made by mail, phone or online to be shipped by the date promised or, if no delivery time was stated, within 30 days. If the goods aren't shipped on time, you can cancel and demand a refund. There is no general three-day cancellation right, but you do have the right to reject merchandise if it's defective or was misrepresented. Otherwise, it's the company's policies that determine if you can cancel the purchase and whether you can receive a refund or credit.

* Be suspicious if someone contacts you unexpectedly and asks for personal information. Identity thieves send out bogus e-mails about problems with consumers' accounts to lure them into providing personal information. Legitimate companies do not operate in that fashion.

* A final tip to keep in mind is to always check your credit card and bank statements carefully. Notify the bank immediately if there are unauthorized charges or debits, if you were charged more than you should have been, or if there are any other problems.

* The task force previously has focused on work-at-home scams, home remodeling, sweepstakes offers, "phishing" (online identity theft), online auctions, collection-agency tactics, unsolicited checks, extended auto warranties and fake police and firefighter organizations.

Participating in the Consumer Fraud Task Force are Missouri Attorney General's Office Illinois Attorney General's Office; Federal Trade Commission; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Attorney's Office; Eastern District of Missouri; U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Illinois; Department of the Treasury; and the BBB serving Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois.

Consumers are advised to contact the following to report fraud or to obtain educational materials on this subject:

Missouri Attorney General's Office at (800) 392-8222; http://www.moago.org.

BBB serving Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois at (314) 645-3300; http://www.contactbbb.org

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