STRATEGIES USED BY THE AUTHORITIES IN DEALING WITH ONLINE PURCHASING FRAUD

Cases of online purchase fraud are escalating and this has created concerns about the level of security available for online users. Previous studies have provided solutions to deal with the risk of fraud when using the Internet but no study has focused on discussions about the strategies employed by the Malaysian authorities when dealing with online purchase fraud. Therefore, this study aims to discuss the strategies employed by Malaysian authorities to make online purchasing safe for online users. This qualitative study employed the interview method and content analysis to collect and analyse data, respectively. The documents analysed included journal articles by past researchers, while interviews were conducted with government and non-government agencies that are directly involved with online users. Findings show that the authorities have disseminated consumer information and education through the media, provided channels for lodging complaints, communicated directly with sales service providers, conducted monitoring and inspections, enforced the disclosure of eight vital pieces of information according to P.U (A) 458, encouraged the procurement of the SSM BizTrust certificate, established collaborations with related agencies and conducted research. It is hoped that the suggested improvements can be implemented so that the implemented strategies can have a more positive effect.