Perceived Privacy Issues Hurt Internet Shopping

Internet privacy and personal security issues such as hacking, computer viruses, phishing and spyware are preventing many consumers from becoming online shoppers.

As stated by Jeffrey Grau, author, Online Privacy and Security: The Fear Factor, online retailers are losing business due to

alarming news reports of high-tech scams used to steal credit card numbers over the Internet or the latest information breach at a large corporation...

Forrester Research (2004) found credit card fraud the most frequently cited reason (62 percent) for NOT shopping online.

Gartner (2005) predicted that fraudulent Internet activities like phishing, identity or credit card theft would cut 1-3 percent off e-commerce growth rate in next three years.

According to Nilson Report, Internet credit card fraud is triple the rate of fraud in the offline world.

For full report, view eMarketer website.

Tags: Internet, shopping, Internet shopping, online shopping, security, eMarketer, Internet fraud