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17 Facts Shoppers Need to Know, But Don't

June 3, 2005
A study by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center finds American consumers dangerously unaware of key facts about both the online and offline marketplace. Specifically, the survey identified 17 facts consumers need to know, but don't.

Vulnerable Consumers • Study Finds American Consumers Vulnerable To Exploitation Online and Off • 17 Facts Shoppers Need to Know, But Don't

In the survey, researchers presented 17 correct or incorrect statements to the nationally representative sample of 1,500 adults who used the internet during the past thirty days, asking if each statement is true or false. Correct versions of all the statements are reproduced below. The percentage that "didn't know" refers to the percentage of respondents who responded "true" or "false" incorrectly to the questionnaire version of the statement or said they didn't know whether the statement was true or false.

1. WHEN A WEBSITE HAS A PRIVACY POLICY, IT DOES NOT MEAN THE SITE WILL PROTECT YOUR PRIVACY. 75% didn't know. In fact, the purpose of privacy policies is to disclose to consumers how their information will be used by the website. This often involves sharing their personal information with other websites or companies. The presence of a privacy policy, unfortunately, does not always ensure privacy protection.

2. BY LAW, A SITE SUCH AS EXPEDIA OR ORBITZ THAT COMPARES PRICES ON DIFFERENT AIRLINES IS NOT REQUIRED TO OFFER THE LOWEST AIRLINE PRICES. 68% didn't know.

3. THE NATIONAL CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES THAT CAN PROVIDE YOU WITH A COPY OF YOUR CREDIT REPORT ARE EQUIFAX (WWW.EQUIFAX.COM), EXPERIAN (WWW.EXPERIAN.COM), AND TRANS UNION (WWW.TRANSUNION.COM).

4. WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, YOUR BANK HAS A RIGHT TO SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT YOU WITH THE COMPANIES THAT IT OWNS. 73% didn't know. You do have a right to stop the bank from sharing information about you with outside parties. But you have to tell the bank you don't want that to happen. That's called "opting out."

5. BANKS DO NOT SEND THEIR CUSTOMERS EMAILS THAT ASK THEM TO CLICK ON A LINK WANTING THEM TO VERIFY THEIR ACCOUNT. 49% didn't know. Legitimate companies don't ask for this information via email. If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, often referred to as "phishing," do not reply or click on the link in the message. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization in the email using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new internet browser session and type in the company's correct Web address. In any case, don't cut and paste the link in the message.

6. WHEN YOU GIVE MONEY TO CHARITY, BY LAW THAT CHARITY IS ALLOWED TO SELL YOUR NAME TO ANOTHER CHARITY EVEN IF YOU DON'T GIVE IT PERMISSION. 72% didn't know. If you don't want that to happen, make sure your charity won't do it.

7. WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TO A MAGAZINE, BY LAW THAT MAGAZINE IS ALLOWED TO SELL YOUR NAME TO ANOTHER COMPANY EVEN WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION. 52% didn't know. If you don't like that idea, tell your magazine. Some magazines may allow you to stop them from doing that. By giving a magazine a unique variation on your name -- or a fictional name -- you can track who has bought your information from the magazine.

8. A VIDEO STORE IS NOT ALLOWED TO SELL INFORMATION ABOUT THE TITLES THAT YOU HAVE RENTED. 71% didn't know. It can, however, sell your name and address as someone who has rented from the store.

9. YOUR SUPERMARKET IS ALLOWED TO SELL OTHER COMPANIES INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT YOU BUY. 64% didn't know. Your frequent shopper card is a passport for your supermarket or drug store to collect enormous amounts of information about what you buy -- and to give you greater or lesser discounts for products based on what they know. If that bothers you, don't use the card -- or don't use it for products you want to keep really private.

10. A WEBSITE IS ALLOWED TO SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT YOU WITH AFFILIATES WITHOUT TELLING YOU THE NAMES OF THE AFFILIATES. 49% didn't know.

11. COMPANIES TODAY HAVE THE ABILITY TO FOLLOW YOUR ACTIVITY ACROSS MANY SITES ON THE WEB. 20% didn't know. These companies are often spyware firms or advertising networks. To stop them, use anti-spyware software.

12. A COMPANY CAN TELL THAT YOU HAVE OPENED ITS EMAIL EVEN IF YOU DON'T RESPOND. 28% didn't know. You may want to delete some obvious spam without opening it. Also, although using "panes" in some email programs allows you to see the beginning of the message before you open it, it may tell the sender you've actually opened the message. Don't use panes if you don't want the sender to think that.

13. MOST ONLINE MERCHANTS GIVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE INFORMATION THEY GATHER ABOUT ME. 47% didn't know. Don't be misled by the assurance that the website allows you to change your information. That's almost always just the information that you gave the site. Shopping sites typically keep track of what you do on their sites and what you buy, and they don't allow you to know what they know or how they use it. If that bothers you, don't register for a site, and erase the cookies that the site puts on your machine.

14. MOST ONLINE MERCHANTS DO NOT ALLOW YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO ERASE INFORMATION THEY HAVE GATHERED ABOUT YOU. 50% didn't know. Typically, they allow you to erase or change only the information that you yourself gave them, not the information they have gathered during your activities on the site, or bought from elsewhere.

15. IT IS LEGAL FOR AN ONLINE STORE TO CHARGE DIFFERENT PEOPLE DIFFERENT PRICES AT THE SAME TIME OF DAY. 62% didn't know. Price changes based on time and day and what stores know about you is becoming a fact of life online and offline. Sometimes we gain because of it, sometimes we lose. For reasonably expensive goods, it pays to shop around, often through comparison shopping sites. But be careful there, too. Many of these sites are paid by the companies whose products they present.

16. IT IS LEGAL FOR AN OFFLINE STORE TO CHARGE DIFFERENT PEOPLE DIFFERENT PRICES AT THE SAME TIME OF DAY. 71% didn't know. See above.

17. THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION WILL NOT CORRECT ERRORS IN CREDIT RPORTS. 76% didn't know that. Check out the Federal Trade Commission site (www.ftc.gov) for helpful consumer information.

The full text of the study is available at www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/.

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