A virtual shopping trip is quite a different experience from the traditional type where the main hazards to watch out for might be pickpockets or short-changers. Window shopping on the internet is likely to bring you into contact with a wide range of areas where you need to tread carefully and which, even though not directly connected with your shopping aims, may trip the unwary. The same signs that arouse your suspicions in print and on television are apparent on the internet. Although many of these messages are from law-abiding organisations, some are from fraudulent traders making false promises they do not intend to keep.
Special software is used to send hundreds of thousands of e-mails at the click of a mouse.
Lists of e-mail addresses can be bought from a list broker, who 'harvests' addresses from the internet. If, for example, your e-mail address appears on a web site, in a news group posting, or in a chat room, it could find its way onto these lists. Spotting bulk e-mail. The sender's address is often a made-up name or the address on the 'To' line is identical to the one on the 'From' line. Promises from strangers should be treated with caution.