• Know the merchant you are dealing with.

• Look for detailed product information.

• Read the contract's terms and conditions and print or save them.

• Check for quality assurance certificates or seals.

• Verify that the merchant has a fair and clear complaint-handling process.

• Make sure that you're comfortable with the merchant's purchasing process and that you know how to cancel your order.

• Make sure the merchant has a secure transaction system to protect your financial information.

• Review the merchant's policy for protecting personal information.

• Watch out for mass e-mails, scams etc.

For more information on Internet shopping scams, and how to be a clever consumer, visit Consumer Connection's Web site at http://consumer.ic.gc.ca. This is an award-winning Web site developed by the Office of Consumer Affairs of Industry Canada. It provides rapid access to consumer information, powerful tools to cut research time, and many useful links to consumer and other organizations. Canadians can access Consumer Connection from home, the public library, community access points or from Government of Canada, provincial and territorial service outlets. For a variety of information on everything from bank fees, to privacy rights, to the latest scams or frauds, this is the place to go.

About The Author

News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.

News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.