By BART JARMAN
Internet malls and digital stores offer consumers an alternative to crowded parking lots and long lines, but caution should be used in shopping these alternatives, according to the Better Business Bureau.
The Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission have issued some helpful guidelines for consumers who shop the Net.
First, if you are trying out a new merchant, check them out. Legitimate companies are often listed with the BBB and should be able to provide a mailing address and phone number for contact offline.
The bureau also encourages consumers to be careful with personal information, including your Social Security number and passwords.
According to the FTC, your rights as a consumer are the same as those who shop by mail or by telephone. Under the law, a company must ship your order within the time stated in its ads.
If no time is promised, the company should ship your order within 30 days after receiving it.
The Fair Credit Billing Act safeguards your credit card number if you decide to pay with credit, but you can call the number in or fax it if you are uncomfortable with having your credit card number on the net.
Internet Fraud Watch, a watchdog group sponsored by the National Consumers League and MasterCard International, reported that an estimated 37 million Americans are now online and have access to the Internet.
Today, 14 percent of World Wide Web users say they have purchased products or services over the Internet, and this figure is expected to increase dramatically in the near future.
'Our overriding objective is that consumers feel secure in the marketplace, and that includes the Internet,' said Joel Lisker, senior vice president of security and risk management for MasterCard.
Fraud can be reported online at the Fraud Watch site at www.fraud.org. The site is staffed eight hours a day and five days a week with counselors who field calls about online fraud.
They immediately report the information to state and federal enforcement authorities. Enforcement agencies will use this data to identify trends and shut down cyberscams.
'This system will help the consumer cops by quickly alerting them to where and when scams on the Internet are occurring,' said Susan Grant, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators. 'Following the money trail makes it easier to find con artists and stop the scams.'
The top five Internet scams to watch out for, according to Internet Fraud Watch, include pyramid schemes, Internet services, equipment sales, business opportunities and work-at-home offers.
Pyramid schemes involve early investors who make some money, but most investors lose all their money.
Internet services scam artists who don't deliver the Internet services promised, such as personal websites or access accounts.
Equipment sales involve crooks who don't deliver the item ordered or deliver items of a lesser quality, usually computer-related products.
Business opportunity scams include phony franchises and business schemes; buyers are usually unable to do business using the supplies or can't make enough to cover the original investment.
Work-at-home offers have high-tech links and involve converting graphics and photos or word processing, which then are rejected by the crooks as 'below standard,' when completed.