Christmas shopping on the Net is expected to reach record levels this
year. But how can you tell whether a vendor is reputable? In some cases,
the site will be operated by an instantly recognisable and reassuring
high street "name". Even so, there is always the possibility
that the brand or the URL has been hi-jacked by some unauthorised
person, with devious plans for relieving you of your money. For smaller
businesses with no strong brand name to rely on, customer confidence is
particularly vital. Before committing to buy from these sites, people
will want to be assured that their electronic transactions are secure,
and that the goods or services will actually be forthcoming.
Many vendor sites now sport "Seals of Approval" which are
aimed at improving customer confidence. Some of these concentrate on
issues of security and privacy, such as WebTrust and Truste,
while others promise fair dealing in all aspects of the transaction, for
example in delivery, quality of goods, and the handling of complaints.
Foremost among these in the UK is the Which? Web Trader scheme,
which has around 2000 subscribers. In the US, similar schemes are run by
BBBOnline (a subsidiary of the Council of Better Business
Bureaus) and ePublicEye. (There appears to be rivalry between
these two, with EpublicEye claiming to set "more demanding"
standards for membership than BBBOnline).
For the consumer, the problem is that although all these schemes
involve the use of impressive-looking symbols, there are wide variations
in the extent to which they are backed up by any independent
investigation or audit. WebTrust, for example, was originally launched
by the leading accountancy bodies in the US and Canada, and involves a
fairly rigorous appraisal of security measures in operation at each
vendor’s site. This makes it quite an expensive option, with strict
conditions attached (such as a need for periodic review and
re-certification). Only persons licensed by the accounting bodies can
carry out the necessary audits. Perhaps not surprisingly, the list of
clients for the US-based service is relatively short, although it
includes some prestigious names. In other countries, including the UK,
WebTrust has also been promoted by accounting professionals, with mixed
success. Having launched its WebTrust service two years ago, the ICAEW
is still actively marketing the concept, but makes no mention of a
client list (see www.icaewwebtrust.co.uk).
Truste concentrates on privacy protection, and was set up in the
US some five years ago as a non-profit organisation by various interest
groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation. It claims a
membership of 1500 sites, and operates around the world. However, its
main base remains in the US, where privacy legislation has tended to be
more fragmented and less strict than in Europe.
Another contender in the security stakes is BT Ignite service,
which offers Trustwise certification in affiliation with Verisign. This
service concentrates on vouching for the security of the web server, and
the proper use of encryption: (it also perhaps suffers from an overdose
of branding messages).
The more general commercial schemes, such as Which? Web Trader and
BBBOnline, tend to be the easiest to join. Members sign up to a code of
practice and give assurances about the way their site is being operated.
They undertake to cooperate in resolving any complaints raised by
customers under the scheme (and risk being thrown out if any complaints
are upheld). In both these cases, the schemes are off-shoots of an
organisation which is well established and well known, so that the
parent body will have a vested interest in ensuring that everything is
above board.
Other schemes are more a product of the Internet age. ePublicEye,
for example, describes itself as a "trusted infomediary" in
electronic commerce, and emphasises its track record in collecting
customers’ evaluations of the service from web sites. In the UK,
another scheme to be found at www.istores.co.uk
is also a child of the Net. It claims to offer its own "secure
mark" and a "secure shopping directory", but little
explanation is provided as to exactly what these terms mean, and it
appears to function mainly as a trade directory.
Finally, some industry watch dogs have recognised the value of
extending their remit on to the Net, and their emblems can be found on a
number of sites belonging to the industry group in question. See for
example the General Insurance Standards Council at www.gisc.co.uk,
and the Federation of Small Businesses at www.fsb.co.uk.
Even the best-established schemes still have an experimental feeling
to them. If symbols are "clickable" (as they should be) the
results vary from scheme to scheme: some point you to a list of members,
while others take you to a frame containing full background information
and a dated certificate of membership. Some fail to work at all, which
suggests that customers should be vigilant in checking that the symbols
are indeed "active". However much of a rush you may be in over
the Christmas shopping, it is probably worth taking the time to check
whether the seal is genuine, and has not been pasted into the web page
to try and impress you.
URL’s of the sites mentioned above are:
A copy of this article, with embedded URL’s will be posted to the
IRMA web site three months after this edition has been circulated to
members.
Andrew Hawker can be contacted at the University of
Birmingham on 0121 414 6675 or by email A.Hawker#bham.ac.uk |
