The advent of the internet has put the local drugstore at our fingertips. E-mails and other forms of spam bombard us with the promise of obtaining name brand drugs at cut rate prices. The question is are these on line pharmacies safe and are there risks to consumers that do business with them?

It must be stated that there are real dangers in ordering drugs online. Some sites ship substandard drugs. Others may not adequately check for drug interactions. Sites that prescribe drugs without a physician’s consultation may offer pills that are dangerous for certain individuals, such as those with compromised immune systems. Furthermore, two Internet pharmacy offerings — cheap drugs from Canada-based online pharmacies and prescriptions obtained online without actually seeing a doctor in person — raise some questions.

Here are some guidelines from the FDA to protect yourself when purchasing drugs over the internet:

• Check with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (http://www.nabp.net, (847) 698-6227) to deternine whether a web site is a licenced pharmacy in good standing
• Don’t buy from sites that offer to prescibe a prescription drug for the first time without a physical exam, sell a prescription drug without a prescription, or sell drugs not approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• Don’t do business with sites that don’t have a registered pharmacist available to answer questions.
• Avoid sites that don’t identify with whom you are dealing or don’t provide a U.S. address and phone number to contact if there is a problem.
• Don’t purchase from foreign web sites. It is illegal to import the drugs bought from these sites, the risks are greater, and there is very little the U.S. government can do if you get ripped off.
• Beware of sites that that advertise a “new cure” for a serious disorder or a “quick cure” for a wide range of ailments.
• Be careful of sites that use impressive sounding terminology to disguise a lack of good science or those that claim the government, the medical profession, or research scientists have conspired to suppress a product.
• Steer clear of sites that include undocumented case histories claiming “amazing” results
• Talk to your health care professional before using any medications for the first time.

There are some incredibly beneficial pharmaceuticals on the market today but care is needed when using these powerful drugs.  Visit your local physician for an exam, and if a prescription is necessary, have the prescription dispensed through a VIPPS certified pharmacist.

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The next phase in online shopping may soon utilize your cell phone.  With the current influx of shoppers choosing the Internet to do their shopping  Sprint Nextel Corporation has added something new for the consumer.  Developed in collaboration with mShopper.com, Mobile Shopper is a mobile portal intended to enable shoppers to purchase seven million products from 30 reputable and popular online retailers including Wal-Mart, shoes.com and bluefly.com.

Using the wireless broadband infrastructure of one of the most popular and largest telecommunications company in the United States today, users can access and use Mobile Shopper without having to pay for extra subscription fees. This first feature of this kind in the US will result in a big opportunity for Sprint to increase its data usage as well as expand its user base. Unlike other existing mobile Internet services offered by hand-held mobile companies, Mobile Shopper will simply earn from the Internet fees that are charged on mobile online users while revenues from online advertising will help maintain the mobile shopping features.

Mobile Shopper is revolutionary in that it will  enable customers to shop for virtually anything from clothing to appliances by using their hand-held mobile phones.  The goal of mobile online shopping is to generate revenues as well as  to widen the mobile phone user base by pushing them to use their cellular phones for data services such as Internet surfing and video and music downloads. With faster wireless data speeds and better user friendly handsets could help expand the mobile shopping market using a mobile commerce adaptation of mainstream online shopping. Internet marketing analyst Alan Goode of Jupiter Research believes that with the launching of Mobile Shopper, the market for mobile online shopping in North America alone could reach $505 million by 2008 and increase to $1.9 million in 2010.

When using Mobile Shopper, users can conveniently search for a particular product at the lowest price or browse for products by retailer or category. Once the particular product is selected, customers can email product details to themselves for future reference, forward it to a friend or buy the product directly using their cellular phone.

To make mobile online shopping even more convenient, customers can create a Mobile Shopper account using their mobile phone or on a computer by clicking on www.sprint.com/mobileshopper where they will be asked to provide their shipping address as well as credit card information with a secure PIN. Using their Mobile Shopper account, users can easily make a purchase by simply selecting a product and entering their phone number and PIN without having to key in account information. Purchases made through Mobile Shopper will be reflected on the customer’s credit cart statement similar to online purchases made through the Internet.

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A recent  JupiterResearch and PayPal study revealed that consumers value payment security and payment choice more than rewards when making purchases online. The two firms conducted a series of surveys focusing in on what payment methods the U.S. population uses  when shopping online.  The study revealed, that  when consumers are confronted with two merchants who offer the same product at the same price, the two most influential factors when choosing where to buy are payment security and payment choice.

The study also indicated that consumers value  security over merchant incentives like rewards and discounts. In fact, more than half of the survey respondents consider the security of their financial information as the deciding factor when they make purchases. An additional two thirds of shoppers feel more secure when they don’t have to enter financial information.

Additionally it was revealed that more than half of online shoppers think about the payment method they will use before they click on the merchant’s checkout button. Sixty-six percent of consumers prefer e-commerce sites that offer multiple payment methods, and about half of online shoppers prefer the convenience of using alternative payment methods.

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There used to be a ritual that many American shoppers would indulge in like clockwork. This usually occurred on any given weekend and might involve entire households. It was the weekend sojourn to the mall. You could spend hours on end going from store to store window shopping, touching fabrics, checking out the latest gadgets and eating fattening fast foods.  Some malls became cities unto themselves, including every form of entertainment imaginable from movie theaters to minature amusement parks. 

People watching was an added benefit  and of course you might eventually actually shop.  It was a common sight to see scores of people trudging back to their vehicle loaded down with every sort of shopping bag imaginable. That was before the internet and online shopping. People still frequent the mall of course. In fact according to figures from Shop.org online shopping accounts for less than 10 percent of retail sales. But many  people have discovered the ease of shopping from the comfort of their own home.  The allure of getting all your holiday shopping done without ever leaving your easy chair can’t be denied. For example  during the past Thanksgiving weekend  online shopping amounted for  a record $733 million dollars on the following Monday. That day is often referred to as Cyber Monday suggesting that shoppers would continue to search the web for bargains that  weren’t available from the traditional retail outlets.

 There are indications that online shopping may slow down within the next few years.  Worries about online fraud and identity theft may be contributing to the suggested slowdown. In the meantime for many shoppers a shopping spree no longer means aching muscles from fighting through crowds or  carrying heavy packages. Now that spending frenzy may manifest itself in weary eyes and cramped fingers. Of course the only people watching available  on this trip will probably be found on Facebook.

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Americans have embraced online shopping for a variety of reasons. The convience of shopping for a wide assortment of goods and commodities from the comfort of one’s own home has mass appeal. We can peruse a host of online catalogs and with the click of a mouse have those things sent to our home with no fuss and no muss.

However consumers have expressed some legitimate concerns about the potential of cyberspace crooks and con artists stealing valuable information through various scams and fraudulent enterprises. These individuals have the added advantage of the relative anonymity provided by the web and the ability to operate without leaving a paper trail.

It is for these reason that consumers need to be able to identify online fraud indicators and act accordingly. There are some common “red flags” that can indicate if one is about to become the victim of a potential online scam. They include the following:

• “Free” for a Price.  The age old adage that “There is no free lunch” should always come to mind when we see these types of advertisements. Never trust an offer for “free” products or services that later request that you send money or pay some sort of upfront fee.
• “Get Rich Quick” Schemes.  A con artist’s best friend is the greed of others and they are experts at scamming consumers who want to make big money with little work and even less effort. There are myriads of internet related businesses that have legitmately become sucessful. The con artist convinces eager and gullible buyers that by investing hundreds of dollars into an internet related business that they will makes thousands of dollars in profit instantly. Usually the only person likely to turn a profit is the con artist.
• The Art of Presentation  Be wary of online businesses that feel the need to dazzle you with advertisements. Unsolicited e-mails that are overflowing with dollar signs and exclamation points after every sentence. Con artists hope that all the glitz and hype will blind a consumer into not investigating what could be a potential scam.
• No Mail Needed  The red flags should pop up immediately if a seller requests payment in cash by a private courier or by check or money order through an overnight delivery service. The individual may be trying to circumvent postal fraud laws.
• It’s Now or Never  Make it never. There should never be pressure on the consumer to make snap judgements regarding a purchasing decision.  A legitimate company does not need to frantically inform you that the availability of an item is in constant jeopardy. Look on the web for a reliability seal from an online consumer protection group such as BBBOnline and do your own investigative checking.

These are just a few tips to make your online shopping experience a positive one. If you would like to know more contact the following agencies:

• BBBOnLine
• Federal trade commisssion at 202 382-4357
• Your Local Better Business Bureau
• Direct Marketing Association
• National Fraud Information Center at 1-800-876-7060

Be aware that the above listed phone numbers may be subject to change without notice.

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