ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605290068
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: EVAN RAMSTAD ASSOCIATED PRESS
ON-LINE BUYERS are purchasing more on the Internet as fears of credit card theft dissipate. o
Like many people who go on-line, Jordan Truesdell thought buying something on the Internet was risky.
Three weeks ago, he did it anyway, sending his credit card number into the unknown of cyberspace as he charged several hundred dollars to reserve hotel rooms through an Internet service called TravelWeb.
``This is the first time I'd actually purchased something on-line,'' said Truesdell, an engineer in Laurel, Md. ``Once it (the software) says I'm in a secure area, and because I'd read the background of TravelWeb, I felt fairly comfortable sending the information.''
From airplane reservations to computer equipment to Olympic tickets, it seems the Internet is no longer just for window shopping.
The increase in Internet shopping runs counter to skeptics who see the network as unsafe for financial transactions. The fear has been that a crafty programmer could somehow snatch a credit card number from the infinitude of data zipping around the global data network.
But some people have reasoned that risk is no greater than that of a telemarketing operator or a waiter swiping their numbers. And even if something did happen, many people know that federal law caps an individual's liability in credit card theft at $50.
``The fears about credit card numbers on the net haven't moved me that much since I give my credit card to people in restaurants all the time and they take it out of my sight where I can't see what they're doing with it,'' said Dave Hatunen of Daly City, Calif., who recently bought plane tickets to London on another Web service called Travelocity.
That service, owned by the Sabre unit of AMR Corp., accepts telephone and on-line orders for all kinds of travel services. But executives did not have a breakdown between them.
TravelWeb, which only handles hotel reservations on-line, had just over $500,000 in bookings last month, its fourth in operation.
Gateway 2000 Inc., one of the nation's largest personal computer makers, has sold several thousand models from an order form put on its World Wide Web site earlier this year.
Amazon.Com of Seattle sells several thousand books a day from its Web site. Over 80 percent of its customers complete the transaction on-line instead of calling the company's toll-free line to give their credit card number.
The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games on March 23 made tickets to this summer's events in Atlanta available on the Web. It has since sold 47,500, each requiring a credit card number.
People who watch Internet behavior closely have noticed the change.
``We are seeing an almost complete turnaround,'' said Michael Wolff, whose New York company publishes the NetGuide book series. ``There is a perception that technology has improved and the security is there. And it's also the fact there is so much out there for sale and so the compulsion to buy is growing.''
Even so, spending on the Internet is an almost negligible amount in the overall retail economy. And, most companies that promote merchandise or services on the Internet don't provide a way to order on-line, asking people to instead shop by telephone, mail or in a store.
But the propensity to spend on-line is clearly growing.
One reason, cited by both shoppers and merchants, are the security features built in to Navigator 2.0, the software from Netscape Communications Corp. that is the most popular for finding and manipulating information on the Web. It contains a so-called Secure Sockets Layer that encrypts data, indicated by a key at the bottom of the screen.
``You've got that key that shows up and people know it's as safe as using a telephone,'' said John Davis, chief executive of Pegasus Systems, parent company of TravelWeb.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 linesby CNB