Online shopping is a new technology that has been created along with the development of the Internet. It is a convenient method of shopping and allows for a vast array of products to be at your fingertips. However, fraudulent use of the Internet is often a concern for many shoppers. Cyber thieves steal identities of shoppers and then exploit them causing a theft of their identity. This leads to a variety of problems, causing fraudulent credit card charges, opening new credit accounts, and misuse of current accounts. This concern is on the minds of Americans who are the largest buyer of online goods. Most however, feel as though it is worth the risk, or it is only a limited possibility. The two sides of the argument will be explored in the following pages.\
In an article from American Banker, 68% of Web users are online browsers, it was predicted that in 2003 that it would be up to 77%. That is a vast increase in just two years, 4.5% per year. When shopping online, one is required to submit their name, address and credit card number; if security is breeched then anyone could have access to very personal information and cause lots of damage. The National Consumer League discovered that 7% of Internet users stated that they felt as though they were victims of credit card fraud . Fraud is the primary reason that most people do not shop online; they feel it is too easy to fall victim to information thieves. To increase consumer confidence e-retailers must install advanced password and information encryption to protect their information. If the consumer feels safe and confident in the websites ability to protect their personal information the more likely they are to shop with them.
One area that of online shopping that will have difficulty taking off is online grocery shopping. To the average person it is much easier just to go and grab what you need from the shelf, rather than to wait for the page to load to pick out a