Digital Planet says online shopping is safe
In the article by Julius Cobbett, first published on Moneyweb, Digital Planet is quoted as saying that ‘Credit-card fraudsters are rife on the internet’.
“The online computer store says fraudsters used to target it weekly before it introduced a rather dubious ‘security’ system,” the article continues.
Digital Planet responded, saying that there are a number of issues from the article which need to be addressed.
“The first deals with the headline that Fraud is Rife. This is absolutely not the case. If you communicate with established players such as Kalahari.net and Digital Planet, you will find they all have fraud prevention measures in place,” DigitalPlanet says.
The company says that it has been shipping orders since 1999 and over the last eight years, they have developed systems to combat fraud. The company says that when your systems are effective in stamping out fraud, the number of potentially fraudulent transactions drops.
“Not one customer has ever lost money due to fraud related in any way to Digital Planet. In fact, the customer is never exposed to losses when dealing with us. If a stolen credit card is used on our system or if the delivery vehicle is stolen with a customer's goods, we cover the loss. The customer is not at risk,” DigitalPlanet claims.
Cobbett, the author of the original article, raised concern over DigitalPlanet’s request that he e-mail them a photocopy of his credit card (both sides) and identity book. According to Cobbett he refused this request and his order was cancelled.
“The system to gather more information for large value orders was learnt from the travel industry. Their transactions are regularly large and they may never meet the customer. The banks mandate what documentation they would require in order to be confident that the transaction occurred between the vendor and the customer, and the list they give is the one which is used. Consumers may have noticed how companies are now taking imprints of their credit cards to prove the card was present. This is for exactly the same reason,” DigitalPlanet responded.
The company continued to say that “the press does love a good headline and the internet has been the whipping boy for many sensationalist articles over the last few years.”
“In essence, there is a general lack of understanding of the real risks of doing internet commerce to the customer. If you know the company you’re dealing with and they’ve been around for a while, you’re in good hands,” DigitalPlanet said.
The company urged consumers to ensure that the company is easy to contact via a call centre and that their physical address is listed. Another quick check recommended is that the directors’ e-mail addresses are available on the website.
“Digital Planet’s MD’s e-mail address is available on the website. When it comes to the risks between online and offline, you’re probably more likely to lose your card in a smash and grab or at an ATM scam, then sitting at home, placing your order on at an online store,” the online retailer concludes.
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