Internet has simplified our lives in so many ways. Years ago people didn’t had a lot of the benefits that we currently have. For instance, doing research about a scientific topic can be done by reading articles from google scholar or other websites. Back in the days, people needed to go to the library to search for a certain book where the theory is discussed. Even looking up a simple word to know the definition is easier for us today then couple of years ago.
A form of internet that we currently use a lot are the electronic markets. Everything is being sold on the internet. Clothes, cars, electronics et cetera, everything can be found on the net. There are also platforms on the internet where people can sell their own products to other people. Focussing on these market, we know that it is very convenient to buy or sell products on these platforms. But is it reliable? According to the Crime Complaint Centre there were more than 70,000 complaints made about the online private market US.
More specifically, in the Netherland 3% of the population had experience with fraud on the internet. A lot of people bought products but were never delivered. Other people don’t receive products that meets their desired requirements. There are different types of fraud:
– Non-delivery fraud: Customer who paid for a certain product don’t receive their products
– Identity theft: Customers fill in their personal information. The identity of the customers will be stolen for criminal purposes.
And there are a lot of other types of fraud where people complain about. The question that we need to ask our self is; ‘What can we do about it?’
There has been a lot of research done about the possible solutions against internet fraud. A solution is for customers to never give their personal information to obscure websites. Another solution is to use anti-fraud software that warns users before they enter a website which is not safe.
Do you guys think that fraud in the online market can be prevented?
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/types-internet-fraud-work-61078.html
Hi Hajar,
I enjoyed reading your post. It’s is interesting to me that only 3% has experienced fraud on the internet. Speaking from personal experiences, I have experienced it multiple times. The most recent internet fraud I have encountered was ‘non-delivery’ fraud. I had ordered a pair of shoes online, but I never received them. I have tried to contact the company multiple times, but they never responded. Luckily for me, I made my transaction with my credit card. Mastercard offers the solution to retrieve the money back, when an order isn’t received. In this case, customers will be protected against internet fraud. So to anwser your question, yes I do think that internet fraud can be prevented to some degree. Nevertheless, you still have to be carefull!
Hi Hajar,
Thanks for your post! With the technological advancements, I don’t see internet fraud declining in the near future – if anything, it will increase as it is becoming easier to fake caller information, automate robot calls and attract an even bigger group of potential victims. I believe the best way to avoid internet fraud is to simply trust your own instinct. If you believe the prices on a website are too good to be true, do an online research for company reviews. If a ‘government official’ or ‘family member’ emails you asking for money for an unknown matter, more likely that not, it’s an imposter. These are very basic, but it is surprising how often people fall for these ‘traps.’
– https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0060-10-things-you-can-do-avoid-fraud
– https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-fraud-schemes/internet-fraud
Dear Hajar, thank you for your blog! Interesting topic! I think the best way for customers to protect themselves is to first have difficult passwords, which are hard to crack, and update their passwords regularly. Then, if they made an account somewhere and do not use it anymore, they should remove it, so no one can access their account or information. When buying something, customers can use Google to search for experiences other people had with specific websites, as to limit Non-Delivery Fraud, and if this fraud happens, make the police aware of it.
As for identity theft, this is a lot harder to prevent, as a lot of people post pictures online and have public profiles. One way to prevent this is to use a different name online (for example, do not use your full last name, but an abbreviation) and make your pictures visible only to friends and family. In case of identity theft, once again, make the website where your identity got stolen and the police aware.
However, these are of course just small things people can do themselves, and it is hard to prevent fraud alltogether. But even the little things can held to protect yourself from fraud.
Dear Hajar, thank you for your interesting blog. There are already precautions taken for non-delivery fraud. A lot of credit card companies are now guaranteeing pay back to their customers if they become victims of non-delivery fraud, which I think is a good reassurance for customers.
As for identity theft, I think that’s a different story. But you can prevent this from happening by not being too exposed on social media, for example not revealing too much personal information. But then again this is not really a solution, merely a prevention measurement.
Hopefully in the near future a solution has been discovered for this problem.