For Immediate Release	CONTACT:	Holly Anderson
10/20/99		(202) 835-3323

New NCL Survey Shows Consumers are Both Excited and Confused about Shopping Online.

National Consumers League launches a new campaign, Be E-Wise: How to Shop Safely Online

WASHINGTON, DC Nearly half of consumers (44 percent) who have Internet access have ordered products or services online in the last year, according to a survey conducted for the National Consumers League. But while consumers are clearly excited about this new shopping medium, they are concerned about the potential risks and confused about their rights and remedies. The "Be E-Wise" educational campaign announced by NCL today was developed with the support of MasterCard International, and is designed to help consumers engage in electronic commerce safely.

"We know that consumers like the convenience-in fact, 48 percent said that was the main reason they shop online," said Susan Grant, NCL Vice President for Public Policy and Director of its Internet Fraud Watch program. The survey, conducted by Opinion Research Corporation International, also showed that most consumers are happy with their e-commerce experiences. One in five reported problems with online purchases. The most common problems were: products or services that were misrepresented (8 percent); products or services that were paid for, but never received (6 percent); charges that were billed, but never authorized (3 percent); charges that were more than the agreed price (1 percent).

Despite the fact that most consumers said they prefer to pay for online orders with credit cards (67 percent) and that few reported any problems in that regard, the most common concern (41 percent) was that their credit card numbers would be stolen if they gave them online. "What is even more distressing is that 69 percent of consumers incorrectly believe that it is safer to pay for an online purchase by check or money order rather than credit card," observed Grant. "People don't realize that encryption is commonly used to protect financial information during transmission. And that federal law protects credit cards users if they don't get what they were promised or unauthorized charges were made to their accounts."

The survey also pointed out other gaps in consumer knowledge. Only about half (49 percent) knew that federal law requires online orders to be delivered by the time stated or, if no time period was stated, within thirty days. Forty-seven percent incorrectly thought that they had three business days to cancel online purchases. Nearly one-third (30 percent) believed that businesses must go through a screening process to ensure that they are legitimate before they can put Web sites up on the Internet.

Grant noted that of the list of concerns about online shopping, only 10 percent of consumers said they were worried that the seller may be fraudulent, though that is actually a greater threat than theft of credit card numbers. "Consumers need to check out unfamiliar companies before doing business with them, online or offline," she said. "You can't judge them simply on the basis of a nice-looking Web site."

People are also worried about their privacy online. One quarter (24 percent) of the survey respondents ranked abuse of their personal information as their greatest concern in online commerce. Sixty-six percent said they look for notices about what information the seller collects and how it is used, and the vast majority, 83 percent, said that they would not go through with the online transaction if they didn't see information about what the seller collects or didn't like the seller's privacy policy.

"For electronic commerce to thrive, businesses must reassure consumers about the safety of their financial and other personal information, and consumers need to know how to minimize the risks of fraud and other abuses," said Grant. To educate the public, the Be E-Wise brochure is available on NCL's two Web sites, www.nclnet.org and www.fraud.org, and by calling 800-639-8140.

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America's pioneer consumer organization. NCL's three-pronged approach of research, education and advocacy has made it an effective representative and source of information for consumers and workers. NCL is a private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to representing consumers on issues of concern.