Even though online shopping has become widely accepted, there are still some risks consumers have to be aware of.

A few dubious vendors defraud consumers systematically (e.g. with pretended cost-free offers or lotteries as happened to thousands of Austrian internet users). Consumers receive damaged products or nothing at all or are demanded to pay unexpected additional charges. These are just a few examples of complaints received at the Saferinternet.at e-mail helpline.

Many problems could have been prevented if consumers were more aware of consumer protection on the internet. Ursula Haubner, Minister for consumer protection, stresses: “New developments like online shopping require that consumers know their consumer rights and responsibilities very well. This especially applies to young consumers”. She adds that consumer education has not played an important enough role in schools. And that is why the Ministry and Saferinternet.at produced a comprehensive handbook allowing teachers to work with their students in a practical and playful way.

The handbook covers topics such as buying in an online shop, online auctions, downloading music and movies, shopping with mobile phones, dealing with spam etc. Ready-to-use master copies, work sheets, acetate sheets and tips support the teachers in integrating the topic with various subjects in a fun and attractive way for students.

The handbook is distributed to teachers free of charge, and the online version can be downloaded from the Saferinternet.at website. The demand for the handbook is overwhelming. Almost all Austrian secondary schools have received the teaching material so far. Moreover, the handbook is used by private educational institutes, the police and schools in Germany and Switzerland. The indisputable importance of consumer protection together with the trustworthy authorship of a publicly funded Safer Internet awareness node and the Ministry for Consumer Protection could certainly be considered as the key to its success.

Bernhard Jungwirth, Saferinternet.at