Things to take note to prevent e-auction fraud when a consumer participating in an e-auction

Fraud in Auctions and Its Prevention

According to Internet Fraud Watch (fraud.org/internet), among all e-commerce activities conducted over the Internet, fraud is most serious in e-auctions. It accounted for 87 percent of the e-commerce fraud that occurred in 1999. According to the National Consumer League’s National Fraud Information Center, 9 out of 10 registered Internet related complaints are concerned with auction fraud.

METHOD TO PROTECT AGAINST E-AUCTION FRAUD

The largest Internet auctioneer, eBay, has introduced several measures in an effort to reduce fraud. Some are free and some are not. The company has succeeded in its goal.

Product authentication is a way of determining whether an item is genuine and described appropriately. Authentication is very difficult to perform because it relies on the expertise of the authenticators. Because of their training and experience, experts can often detect counterfeits based on subtle details (for a fee). However, two expert authenticators may have different opinions about the authenticity of the same item.

Grading services is a way of determining the physical condition of an item, such as “poor quality” or “mint condition.” The actual grading system depends on the type of item being graded. Different items have different grading systems—for example, trading cards are graded from A1 to F1, while coins are graded from poor to perfect uncirculated.

The eBay Feedback Forum allows registered buyers and sellers to build up their online trading reputations. It provides users with the ability to comment on their experiences with other individuals.

For items valued at more than $200, or when either a buyer or seller feels the need for additional security, eBay recommends escrow services (for a fee). With an easy to access link to a third-party escrow service, both partners in a deal are protected alerts the seller when everything checks out. At that point, the seller ships the goods to the buyer. After an agreed-upon inspection period, the buyer notifies the service, which sends a check to the seller. (An example of a provider of online escrow services is i-Escrow.)

Appraisers use a variety of methods to appraise items, including expert assessment of authenticity and condition, and reviewing what comparable items have sold for in the marketplace in recent months. An appraised value is usually accurate at the time of appraisal but may change over time as an item becomes more or less popular in the marketplace.

Corporate Blogging : A new marketing communication tool for companies

A corporate blog is a weblog published and used by the organization to reach the organizational goals. Although there are many different types of corporate blogs, they are mostly categorized as either external or internal corporate blogs.
further information


Pros and Cons of Blogging for Corporate Communications

Here are the main reasons executives should blog:

• Leaders can communicate directly with customers, suppliers and investors, as well as employees, helping disseminate and explain strategy.
• Blogs give the writer an opportunity to answer critics in a controlled forum.
• Compared with conference or printed memos to all staff, blogs are highly cost effective.
• A well written blog can give a human face to an otherwise anonymous corporation.

And why shouldn’t of blogging...

• The best non-corporate blogs are spontaneous and genuine. Poorly written corporate blogs can look fake -- or perhaps worse, they reveal incompetence on he part of the writer.
• It is difficult for executives to write freely, particularly at listed companies where they are legally required to publish significant information to all investors at the same time.
• There is a risk that an ill-judged comment could be seized upon by the media or disgruntled investors.

Top 10 Corporate Blog Rankings
#10: The Otter Group
#9: English Cut
#8: SunBelt Software
#7: GM Fast Lane
#6: Adobe Software
#5: Ask.com
#4: Tom Peters
#3: Yahoo! Search
#2: O’Reilly Radar
#1: Google

(you may click on the link to view the corporate blog)

In conclusion, i think using blog as communication tool is one of the best way to introduce and merket the company's products or services.

By the way, this is the last post of our assignment, thanks for visit our blog. (^_^)>

Review a local e-commerce site

MPH Bookstores is the largest bookstores chain in Malaysia. MPHONLINE.COM is a virtual bookstore. It allows you to browse, search, as well as buy books, online.

In the MPH Online.com, the main colour of the site is white. The purposes are to emphasis the products and make the products become more attractive. On the Home page, it shows various Special Offers which will attract more customers to buy its products.

The search engine had been provided by this site which allows us to search for items that we need. The download speed is also very fast.

In the MPH Online.com, the books are divided into 35 categories. People can easily search for the relevant book by clicking on the relevant category. We can choose the book that is most suitable for us because it’s allowed us to view the book description by just click on the book’s icon.
After you had decided which book to buy, you just click “Add to Cart” icon. However, before you can view your shopping cart, you must login first. If you are a new customer, fill in details by clicking "sign-in" link. Then, it will bring you to your shopping cart. In the shopping cart, you will see the item that you have added. That allowed the customers to check the details of the items they have ordered. The way to make payment for online purchases is through credit card, Maybank2u.com internet banking and cash or cheque bank in. They accept major credit cards from Visa and MasterCard. These make it easier for the customers to pay for their purchases. For more information on payment, can visit to http://www.mph.com.my/misc/faq.cfm.

MPH Online.com also provides other services for their customers. All information regarding the other services are listed in http://www.mph.com.my/disclaimer/oserv.cfm. For loyal customers, every purchase made at MPH Online.com qualifies for point collection through MPH Readers’ Circle program. For more information about the program, please visit http://www.mph.com.my/disclaimer/mrctc.cfm.

In conclusion, MPH Online.com is an e-commerce site which is user friendly.The overall site design and layout of the MPH Online.com also very nice and well-organized.

E-Government in Malaysia: Its implementation so far and citizen’s adoption strategies.

The Electronic Government initiative in Malaysia was launched to lead the country into the Information Age. It has improved both how the government operates internally as well as how it delivers services to the people of Malaysia. It seeks to improve the convenience, accessibility and quality of interactions with citizens and businesses; simultaneously, it will improve information flows and processes within government to improve the speed and quality of policy development, coordination and enforcement. The vision of Electronic Government is a vision for government, businesses and citizenry working together for the benefit of Malaysia and all of its citizens. The vision focuses on effectively and efficiently delivering services from the government to the people of Malaysia, enabling the government to become more responsive to the needs of its citizens.

Electronic Services (E-Services)
E-Services is one of the pilot projects under the Electronic Government Flagship within the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative. With E Services, one can now conduct transactions with Government agencies, such as the Road Transport Department (RTD) and private utility companies such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM)
through various convenient channels such as the eServices kiosks and internet. No more queuing, traffic jams or bureaucratic hassles and one can now conduct transaction at one’s own convenience.



Electronic Labor Exchange (ELX)
ELX is one stop-centre for labor market information, as supervised by the Ministry of Human Resource (MOHR), to enable employers and job seekers to communicate on the same platform.

Objectives:

• An effective and integrated job matching process
• Provide an effective center of labor market information and references
• To improve mobilization of the nation’s human resources and to ensure that manpower utilization is optimized.

e-Syariah
e-Syariah is the seventh project under the Electronic Government
flagship application of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). A
case management system that integrates the processes related to
management of cases for the Syariah Courts.

Objectives:
• To improve the quality of services of the Syariah Courts
• To improve the effectiveness of JKSM in coordinating and supervising related agencies under its jurisdiction
• To improve the productivity and efficiency of the management of the Syariah courts throughout the country
• To uphold the splendors of Islam through the use of ICT

Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS)
HRMIS is an integrated, technology enabled Human Resource Management
Information System for the Malaysian Public Service, incorporating Global
Best Practices in HR that would enable the Public Service to successfully deal with the Challenges of the K-Economy.

Objectives:
• Effective staffing and right-sizing of civil service
• Up-to-date consolidated HR data for effective information planning.
• Automate human resource anagerial and operational processes
• Improve paperless HRM capabilities
• Open and flexible system
• Better communication, horizontal integration, streamlined processes and
single window access.

Generic Office Environment (GOE)
Powerful document and office management solution that enables
users to effectively and efficiently manage their office environment. It is
fully web-based and has been customized based on local developed package, DRDok.

Objectives:
• Efficient preparation and storage of documents
• Fast search and retrieval of documents
• Effective and productive collaboration and sharing of information
• Secure and traceable access to documents

Most governments are only in the initial phases of adopting e-government and reaping its benefits. ICT can improve financial management and reporting, streamline the delivery of government services, and enhance communication with the citizenry by providing additional ways for citizens to interact with government.

Barriers do exist that slow the adoption of ICT by the public, and more work is needed to better understand these and other factors and how to address them. In the meantime WITSA recommends the following steps be aggressively pursued:

• Ensure citizens’ privacy and security by building strong capabilities into the systems before privacy and security become a problem.

• Provide incentives for citizens and businesses to use new e-government services.

• Promote new online services and make citizens and other government agencies aware of new capabilities, services and enhancements.

• Adopt new and innovative funding methods and develop new partnership models with the private sector, outsourcing non-core competencies to reduce costs and leverage expertise.

• Adopt open and transparent procurement practices

Electronic Currency

Electronic money (also known as e-money, electronic cash, electronic currency, digital money, digital cash or digital currency) refers to money or scrip which is exchanged only electronically. Typically, this involves use of computer networks, the internet and digital stored value systems. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and direct deposit are examples of electronic money. Also, it is a collective term for financial cryptography and technologies enabling it.

One example of the Electronic money is Paystone. It is founded in 2001, Paystone has operations in the United States, Canada and the Philippines with International cash out capabilities in many other countries.

Paystone provides an inexpensive online payment method without the risk of chargebacks from fraudulent credit card use. Paystone can efficiently handle small financial transactions (micropayments) as low as $0.25. The ability to process micropayments opens a whole new world for entrepreneurs of all sizes. A small business or individual now has a method of generating revenue from their website quickly, easily and inexpensively. This makes a whole new range of content available to personal account holders. The large online merchant can also realize the full benefits of the Paystone solution to expand and increase the profitability of their business.

In addition to payments Paystone also provides an email money transfer option. A Paystone account holder can send funds to the email address of anyone in many countries around the world. The recipient of the funds signs up for Paystone and can cash out the money to their local bank account. For companies sending a large volume of payments they can access the GroupPay© feature to send many individuals money all at once.

As an online business, you know how the high costs, limitations and risks of using credit cards can limit your opportunity to increase revenues. A Paystone Online Merchant Account can solve these e-commerce issues, allowing your customers pay per view access to your content.

For more information, please visit http://www.paystone.com/

Mobile payment systems in Malaysia: Its potentials and consumers' adoption strategies

Mobile Money is a PIN-based Mobile Payment Solution designed by Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd to address the limitations and bottlenecks created by cash, cheques and credit cards. It unlocks the power of the mobile phone to make payments, allowing registered users to pay for goods and services at anytime, anywhere using only a mobile phone coupled with a 6-digit security PIN (Personal Identification Number) via SMS (Short Messaging Service). This gives the freedom to shoppers to buy products online and pay the merchant using his/her mobile phone without being physically present at the store.

When it comes to online selling, selecting a payment gateway is one of the major obstacles faced by the merchants in Malaysia. There are too few choices available, worse, none of these limited choices are cost effective. This problem has been addressed by Mobile Money, since it allows merchants to take online order without the need for online shopper to disclose their credit card information.

Mobile Money will encourage more consumers to shop online. This will definitely be a great boon to the e-commerce industry in Malaysia. It will surely encourage more merchants to adopt online selling as an extra sales channel which complement perfectly with their offline sales channel to help them SELL MORE of their goods and services. Realizing these needs of merchants in Malaysia, we are the 1'st shopping cart software provider who has integrated Mobile Money as a payment method in our webShaper e-commerce software. This feature allows merchants to accept payment via Mobile Money and process the payment in real time within clicks!For fellow merchants, please take a look at the benefits Mobile Money has to offer to merchants.

In order to pay using Mobile Money, a shopper must have either a savings, current or credit card account with participating banks. It functions like a Credit Card if a shopper applies for a "Pay by Mobile Phone" credit card account (eg Hong Leong Mobile Credit Card). The shopper will be billed by the bank accordinly by month's end. In addition, it functions as a Debit Card if it is tied to shopper's savings or current account. The amount will be deducated instantly from the account upon successful transaction. Please take a look at the screen shots to see how it works and interact with our online storefront solution.

The application of pre-paid cash card for consumers

Even the credit card can save lot of problem (transaction without carried large amount of cash) but, how about the small cash item? Carrying coin around to make transaction still be troublesome...(=_=)

So, here come another plastic cash…pre-paid cash

1st destination - HONG KONG
The Octopus card (Hong Kong) launched in 1997, widely used payment system for virtually all public transport in Hong Kong. It is also used for payment at convenience stores, supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, on-street parking meters, car parks, and other point-of-sale applications such as service stations and vending machines. Usage of the Octopus card was extended to the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Macau in 2006.

Octopus website

2nd destination - SINGAPORE
The EZ-Link card (Singapore) established in 2001, this card is commonly used as a contactless smartcard for paying transportation fees in the city-state's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), Light Rapid Transit (LRT) and public bus services. EZ-Link cards being used for payments in branches of McDonald's, food centres, supermarkets and libraries, and even soft drink purchases from vending machines. The card also serves as a supplementary identification and concession card and some schools in Singapore have also started to adopt the EZ-Link card.

EZ-Link website

last destination - MALAYSIA
The Touch 'n Go card (Malaysia) been use in 1997, it (TnG) usually been use for toll fare of high way (with the mark of TnG & SmartTAG) in whole Malaysia and public transportation (KTM Komuter, RapidKL RAIL, KL monorail, RapidKL BUS) in Selangor. Recently, the system has been expanded and it’s can used for payment of parking, themes park, fast food restaurant, convenience stores, hypermarkets and cinemas in particular branches.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_'n_Go

Touch 'n Go website

Yeah, i can pay my curry with Touch 'n Go

Oops, i think can't use it yet.