And I write them a letter or an e-mail telling them I won't shop there unless they get adequate protection. Varney is among experts who are working to try to ensure that shopping online is safe. A former member of the Federal Trade Commission, she's also an adviser to the Online Privacy Alliance, a coalition of 100 businesses and associations pressing for online consumer protection. Billions of dollars are at stake. Those shoppers won't come back if they find they're buying problems along with their presents.
Most online retailers are honest business people.
But the bad apples out there have been known to collect money and not deliver the goods. Or they sell customers' names to telemarketers. Or, worse, they take credit card numbers or other personal financial information and use it for their own fraudulent purposes. Companies, too, must be responsible, he adds. The consumer ends up trusting the retailer, so a lot of the burden falls on the retailers to create a secure environment where somebody can do business and be sure all data stays secure.