EBay still has a commanding audience, but it seems to be shrinking. Amazon is the new big fish in the pond, but most retailers have their own e-commerce site as well. There was a time where the words online shopping were synonymous with eBay. Today if someone wants an Abercrombie shirt they will likely go to the Abercrombie.com. Five years ago they would have gone to eBay.

What is the root cause of such a change? We are quick to point to the economy in these times, but that doesn't make sense. After all you are likely to get cheaper prices on eBay than anywhere else. But why do people shop online in the first place? The biggest factor is not price, but convenience. Getting what you want with the least amount of time and effort put in. With eBay there is a relatively lengthy process from finding an item you want, bidding on it, seeing if you get it, then dealing with anyone from major companies, to first-time sellers for shipment. It can be quite a hassle.

Identity Theft has some very real wallet consequences, but thats not all it has to offer.

Spam Laws reports credit card fraud costs cardholders and credit card issuers as much as $500 million a year. But it's not always about the money is it? Here are some other reasons to protect yourself:

          As part of the marketing team at NetSecure Technologies I am always raving about SmartSwipe. I am convinced this is a great product with a real purpose, but nothing is perfect. It can be tough to find objective information on a new product before the dust settles. So, I am here to talk about SmartSwipe through the eyes of a customer, honestly with flaws and all. I understand if you don't trust me 100%, but take a look anyway.

            I'll start off by talking a bit about how it works. There are two components: the hardware and the software. The hardware is easy, it plugs into your USB port and when it's time to swipe your card it flashes LED lights. The software has taken on many versions over its short history. Basically, after installing the SmartSwipe software you will have a toolbar button (or buttons depending on what version you are using). On the current version when you reach a payment page the software recognizes it and pops up saying "click here to use SmartSwipe." On the next version there will simply be a button to click when you are ready to swipe.

In a small way I'm disappointed. I guess I was a little curious as to what exactly would happen if it took over millions of computers. Curious to see what it wanted to do, if it had a purpose. If the person who came up with it had a master plan; was patient enough to wait years for the payoff like Kevin Spacey in Se7en.

On 60 Minutes last night they reported on Conflicker and other potential internet threats. I thought this story was very well done (it even comes with a surprise ending!). You can watch it here.

What is particularly interesting is that even the guy from Symantec (makers of Norton Antivirus) says antivirus is simply not enough to protect your computer. Norton has to issue an update every 5 minutes in an attempt to keep up! Dan blogged on this last week in "From the Horses Mouth". I was also pleased to see that they illustrated how anyone can be infected by such simple acts as leaving your computer on overnight, visiting a hacked website or getting messages from friends on social networking sites.

          I like to use my credit card for all my purchases because I collect points. If I am going to spend the money anyways why not use a system that collects points, right? I never go into credit card debt because I pay it off immediately through the convenience of online banking. The trouble is most people don't watch their credit card statements. Simply getting into the habit of checking your online statements daily or even semi-daily will do two wonderful things. First, you are much less likely to go into credit card debt and pay the high interest rates or other fees. Second you can catch credit card fraud much earlier.

            I go down to Peg's Kitchen in Regina once or twice a week for lunch. They have good homemade-style food at good prices and it's just down the street. However, they don't X-out the numbers on my credit card receipt or on their till receipt. This is really bothersome to me because not only do I have to take extra care in the shredding and disposal of my receipt, but now all employees of Peg's have my credit card information. So, at Peg's I only pay by cash now (which probably makes them happy because they don't have to pay as many fees), but Peg's isn't the only place that still does it and how do we know before we buy? Normally I wouldn't put their name in here, but I am purposely calling them out and asking them to change it. I think it should be a law that places of business have to X-out part of the credit card number on all till receipts, but since it isn't I hope most places will do it voluntarily. Most POS machines have a way to do it by changing the settings, so it shouldn't be a matter of cost.

Watch out for a new scam where sites or e-mailers claim they can help you qualify for stimulus money for small amounts of money (think $1.99). The idea, of course, is that Obama's stimulus package is handing out money and you could qualify for some of it. Websites are using this as a means of getting your credit card information and using it for fraud. Some are sneakier, just by clicking on links you can have spyware or malware downloaded on your computer. I guess the problem is becoming serious enough that the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has to get involved. See their site for more details.

It makes sense: in tough economic conditions people are desperate for ways to get their hands on money, and others (also desperate for money) will take advantage of the situation. One good way to cut down on fraud like this is simply spread the word. It always amazes me how fast word spreads on a subject we really need not care about (Jen meets with Brad and Angelina...), but the important ones often go under the radar.

Finding good stats on identity theft and credit card fraud are surprisingly difficult. Here is a basic summary of the best statistics I could find. I tried to separate between American stats and Canadian stats, but they're fairly similar.

One of the best Canadian studies I have seen is the Measuring Identity Theft in Canada report 2008 from McMaster University. Here are a couple of their more interesting results: