There is no more need to physically shop until you drop. With cyberspace virtual shopping malls via the Internet, everything we need to purchase is available with a mere click of the mouse.

Yes indeed, without leaving home you can now order anything on line. Even items such as vehicles, real-estate and stocks, that formally were only purchased through sales agents in the 20th Century, are now available 24 hours a day on this great new super-cyber-highway. Nonetheless, with these new sales outlets we all need to be cautious and take precautionary steps to monitor and protect ourselves against potential problems.

Con artists' will always find a way to plague the innocent and the Internet is almost a safe shelter for fraud. In cyberspace, companies can disappear quicker than they can appear. Think about it! It takes a little effort to build a website but with just a click at the delete button, said site could be just a mere memory.

Here are a few tips to help prevent fraud on the Net: Conduct business only with companies that use encryption to scramble your financial information. This helps to prevent hackers or anyone else to copy your information. Shop with sites that have the little padlock and make sure it is locked before sending credit card and personal details.

Pay by the safest method; pay by credit card...paying by credit card allows you to challenge the charges if you are not satisfied.

Conduct business with major companies that are familiar to you.

Avoid investment proposals via bulk email.

Do your homework and avoid future consequences.

According to a report from the US Federal Trade Commission and National Fraud Information Centre, there are various categories of scams on the net and the most common ones are: Investment Opportunities -- You could be investing in the next Microsoft! From penny stocks to currency trading, these scammers put out all kinds of false claims about how much money you can make.

Not only did they lie about their own independence, some of them lied about the companies they featured, then took advantage of any quick spike in price to sell their shares for a fast and easy profit,is stated in the report from the Enforcement Federal Trade Commission. Delete them. If you respond, it encourages them to pursue you.

Credit Cards -- everyone needs a credit card but getting them can be tough.

Often these schemes promise to either get you a secure credit card either through an offshore bank or give you the names of banks to apply for one.

Phony sweepstakes or lotteries -- make money in a foreign lottery or other such nonsense. Usually you are charged a fee to buy a lottery ticket.

If you have a specific concern or just want to have some more information about fraud on the Internet, you can do you own research. Listed below are web sites specifically dealing with Internet fraud: www.scambusters.org www.fraud.org www.sec.gov Please note that this article is not intended to intimidate or terrify you into not doing business on the Internet.

Doing business on the Internet can be extremely easy, stress and hassle free, and I personally, to date, have shopped via the Internet without any problems.

It is just a precaution to consider before parting with your hard-earned dough.

Cindy Swan is a Professional Organiser with over 20 years of office administrative managerial experience and a member of the National Association of Professional Organisers. Her column appears in the business section on the first and third Thursday of each month. Address inquiries to Cindy Swan, PO Box 304 St. George's GEBX or email her at organize yibl.bm