Risks and Protection

What are the risks of shopping online?

• Spend 2 minutes identifying risks associated with shopping online

• card details could be stolen• goods purchased could be sub-standard• goods might not arrive or might arrive late

In this lesson students are learning about:

• security risks associated with shopping online and how to minimise them

• legislation that protects online consumers

At the end of this lesson students will be able to:

• describe risks associated with shopping online and how to minimise them

• explain how the law protects online shoppers

Loss of sensitive information

• One of the biggest risks of shopping online is that sensitive information, such as credit/debit card details, is stolen.

• What are the possible consequences of having your information stolen?

Prevention

• The best way to prevent sensitive information being stolen is to shop on secure websites, i.e. ones that encrypt the data before transmitting it across the web.

SSL Protocol (Secure Sockets Layer)

Indicated by:• locked padlock icon• https in URL• green address bar

Means:• the website has a digital certificate issued by

a trusted 3rd party• all communication between the customer and

the retailer is encrypted using a unique key

Can you think of any example websites that have this encryption?• Amazon• Ebay• Most well known Supermarkets• Banks• Holiday companies

But…

• SSL certification only protects customers against the risk of having information stolen. It doesn’t tell them anything about the reputation of the retailer

• In other words, just because your information will be transmitted securely doesn’t mean that the service you get will be any good!

Identity checking schemes

• Task: 15 minutes

• Find out about the Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode schemes and write brief notes on how they work and why they help to prevent fraud.

Some links…

• http://www.visa.co.uk/en/security/online_security/verified_by_visa.aspx

• http://www.mastercard.us/support/securecode.html

Buyer’s rights

• Online shoppers are protected by legislation.

• The Consumer Protection act is put in place to define how businesses should go about providing appropriate goods and services

Consumer Protection Legislation

• Sale of Goods Act

• Distance Selling and E-commerce Regulations

Sale of Goods Act Goods you buy must:• be safe and of a satisfactory quality• not be damaged or defective (unless

this was pointed out in advance)• be fit for purpose• be as described by the seller• last for a reasonable length of time.

Distance Selling and E-commerce Regulations Sellers must:• provide clear information about the goods

and services they offer for sale, including what is/is not included in the price

• provide written confirmation of an order• offer a 7 day ‘cooling off’ period • offer a full refund if goods don’t arrive

within 30 days.

And finally…

• Look at and complete the sheet entitled ‘Shopping online safely.doc’