Privacy Issues and Online Shopping - Essay Example

Privacy Issues and Online Shopping It is now common knowledge that when one wants to get an item he or she desires, and then he or she does not need to find his or her way to the store. This is because online shopping has revolutionized the world by bringing all the goods we desire closer to us be it when at home or at work. Online shopping is one of the digital services that have made life much simpler. This is so because, before the introduction of online shopping and security technology, people had to visit the stores in person in order to get whatever item they desired. This contrasts the current state of affairs, where we order what we desire from a store and wait for them to do the delivery within a given duration. It is far reaching to recognize the role all the stakeholders have played in ensuring that online shopping influences our lives positively. This includes the stores, financial institutions as well as the transportation companies, which come in handy where transportation is required. On the contrary, we should not ignore some of the problems that are associated with online shopping. Just as piracy affects the music industry, several eventualities have overtime proved challenging to online shopping. For example, a customer may order a particular good and then the stores deliver the wrong item. In a like manner, the item may be damaged in the course of transportation hence rendering the item null. Situations may arise during which the good fails to arrive after the stipulated period. There is also the concept of greater concern when dealing with foreign companies that do not have branches within your country. The greatest problem however, is the frauds that come with online shopping. This is because they have overtime caused far much greater damage to the customer than expected. In the unfortunate event that either of the problems mentioned above arise, then it shall adversely affect both the consumer and the producer. The consumer would register losses given that he or she would not have received value for their money. Similarly, they may experience problems with their finances in case their personal information and financial details are hacked by the masterminds of frauds. The producer is also set to register losses. This is because they are likely to replace or repair the item if it is either lost or damaged in the course of the transportation. The producer may also end up losing a large client base given that the customers may not talk well on their behalf. As mentioned in the section introducing problems associated with online shopping, one of the main problems associated with online shopping is the privacy. Privacy comes out in form of customer data. More often than not people expect that apart from the institution they are dealing with they are the only persons who should be party to their personal information. In this situation, personal information refers to credit card numbers, passwords and telephone numbers. Similarly, home and mail addresses are also regarded as personal information. The cost of a third party having access to the customer’s personal information is risky. This is because the person may, depending on his intentions either use the credit card for his or her own personal dealings apart from the customer. There is a possibility of the information being used to duplicate another credit card and this may prove disastrous to the consumer. Overally, the activities that take place involve taking the customers’ identity and using it for your own benefit. It is common knowledge that such an activity would prove challenging to the customer. Each individual is aware of the fact that all the information they share with companies that they do business with is private and that the companies should not make it easy for intruders to get hold of them. Similarly, the companies are aware of the fact that protecting their customers’ information is their responsibility. For this reason, they have to place measures that aim at curbing such private information falling on the hands of the wrong people. The companies can do that by ensuring that they embrace the concept of online security. It is imperative to recognize the fact that though such measures are so expensive, the result will prove positive to the institution than the customer. This is because the use of technology to prevent such activities is excessively expensive. In the western countries for example, the European nations have revealed that the government alone spends slightly over fifty million pounds annually in implementing policies that control data protection. In case a government uses such an amount to ensure implementation, then we can imagine how the respective companies spend. At the time online shopping was being introduced, the main idea was that it would be a practice that helps people find a way out of their tight schedules. Nevertheless, it has resulted in the practice of customer’s personal information leaking to the wrong hands who in turn use such information for their own benefit. Though we recognize all that has been done by respective stakeholders to ensure that online security is safe, criminals continue to find a way through all the measures put in place and in turn have their way. Online shopping works to the favor of criminals because of the following reasons. For starters, they employ the use of skimmers; these use technology to derive customer information whenever they swipe their credit cards. The information, which they take without the customers knowledge is then used to find a way through his or her finances. Online shopping also works to the favor of criminals when they cause delay in the service. The criminals change things to their advantage during the duration for which the service is unavailable to the customers. Criminals have developed a tendency of tricking users to reveal their personal information through social sites. They then use the personal information for their own benefit. Apart from the mechanisms mentioned above, the use of fast flux technology that moves data from computers very fast and in that manner, making it difficult to trace the source make it easy for the criminals to pull large swindles out of online shopping. Due to the practice of online shopping, the criminals use the mechanisms mentioned above. It is far reaching to recognize the fact that in the past, no such dealings used to take place because the people had to walk all the way to the stores to do their shopping instead of ordering and paying for the goods online. For that reason, we can say that the practice of online shopping works to the favor of criminals. As much as online shopping is associated with the problems discussed in some of the sections mentioned above, the people in various continents have fully embraced the practice. During the last festive season, for example, the practice of online shopping increased by 20% bringing the entire spending to $33 Billion. Nevertheless, it was established that most of those who practice online shopping are those who visit various nations on holiday. Similarly, it is important to recognize different surveys carried out by respective firms. In most of the surveys, it is established that the fear to lose identity is the most common cause that makes the people to rethink before accepting a transaction (Strandburg et.al, 131). The fear to lose finances, which always registers approximately 30% of the respondents, follows the fear of losing identities. Some consumers also fear that they will receive lots of junk mail and that it takes longer time for the companies to deliver the ordered goods (Strandburg et.al, 135). The Several organizations and businesses aim to market online shopping as the finest article by placing discounts on goods and services bought online. For this reason, it is right to say that online shopping does have both legal uses and users. As mentioned in the introduction portion, online shopping requires that the customer has to let off a significant amount of their personal details. This include their account numbers and statements, this makes the banks as well as any other company that they are carrying out transactions with view their finances. The same applies to both the home and mail address of which the former can aid anyone who is interested in knowing the location of the customer. Cell phone numbers, which are given by the customer to receive up to date reports on their transactions can aid any interested party in knowing the exact location of the customer through the Global Positioning System. As much as crime does portray such information as being of help to the criminal, the data provided aides the company in delivering g the goods to the exact address. In addition, it aids in getting timely notifications for all the transactions that the respective stakeholders perform. The government being the custodian of law has put in place legislations that help regulate online shopping. The Federal government for example, has put in place privacy laws that determine how to collect, use and keep their customers personal data. There exists the business owners responsibility when the customer’s information has wrongly fallen into wrong hands. The Gramm-Leach Bliley laws help in governing the any financial institution thereby making sure that the customer’s finances are not revealed to any other party (Strandburg et.al, 139). Economically such set legislations come in handy in boosting the morale of the customer’s into the started venture. All consumers will attest to the fact that it is their wish that their personal information remains as confidential as possible. The laws put out by the federal government that even calls on the companies to take responsibility in case the information is let out makes the consumers have faith in the practice as a whole. Online shopping is a new trend. Nevertheless, the manner in which it has been embraced by the society shows that it is a good venture that aims at supplementing the lives of citizens rather than pulling them back. The fact that shopping occurs at work, in traffic or at home, is a show that the registered change is for the better. Works- Cited Strandburg, Katherine J, and Daniela S. Raicu. Privacy and Technologies of Identity: A Cross-Disciplinary Conversation New York: Springer Science Business Media, (2006). Read More