Europe is looking to boost confidence in online shops

The European Parliament is looking to boost confidence across national borders when it comes to online shopping. More and better cooperation between the member states is a first step towards achieving this. Combating fraud has also been laid down in clear rules and measures in this regard. “Now we can finally act quickly and more effectively when consumer rights are violated,” mentions pleased MEP, Anneleen Van Bossuyt.

Currently, not even four out of ten Europeans feel confident shopping on online shops based in a country other than their own. Taking criminal online shops offline can help boost those feelings of confidence, which is why Europe is introducing an alert system for online scam activities. Not only member states, but also consumer organisations can report abuse here.

Scam online shops taken offline

This kind of abuse costs Europeans an estimated 770 million euros a year. In Belgium as well this involves considerable sums. Every month, it’s estimated that 1,300 Belgians are scammed by online shops. “The new European measures intend to drastically bring down those numbers,” Anneleen Van Bossuyt concludes. “What’s more, we make sure that consumers suffering a loss are able to obtain a compensation for this more easily.”