Female consumers have risky online shopping habits

Monday, March 7, 2011 - 16:33 by Paul Tissington

A new study commissioned by security firm F-Secure, has looked at the way in which female consumers in the UK shop online and concluded that many women are not taking the proper precautions when buying goods and services from e-commerce firms.

The survey was conducted by OnePoll and it is worth pointing out that only female respondents took part, so there is no way to compare any kind of gender divide. However, the findings and the advice on how to carry out safe shopping online are valuable to everyone, whether male or female.

According to the poll, a fifth of consumers have been hit with card fraud as a result of shopping online and around 60 per cent of people use e-commerce sites on a regular basis.

These relatively high rates of fraud are still not having an impact on the checks which average female consumers carry out when buying from a website. Over 66 per cent of online shoppers do not seek out the regulated security logos on websites, while 84 per cent do not consult the security rating of a given site.

There are several things which women, men and people of all ages can do to ensure that they are able to enjoy safe shopping online. The most basic advice revolves around using trusted sites which you have shopped with before and also checking up on any unknown site to see whether it is the genuine article and protected with secure payment options.

If you are confident that the e-commerce site you are using is secure, protect your personal details from manipulation by never leaving your account logged on when you are away from your PC and avoid using public computers to make purchases to keep prying eyes away from vital information.