In our zealous attempt to provide relief for potential information overload, we've condensed several industry-related surveys and research findings into a more digestible form for your reading pleasure.
Online Auctions Exhibit High Rate of Fraud
A compilation study conducted by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center was released last week by the Internet Fraud Complaint Center as part of its annual data trends report.
The report indicates that of all Internet fraud cases reported and referred to law enforcement agencies in 2001, almost 43 percent of the fraud came from online auctions. A little more than 20 percent of the fraud cases stem from non-delivered merchandise or non-payment and 15.5 percent of complaints were elicited from a Nigerian letter fraud.
In the period from January to December 2001, the IFCC Web site counted 17.1 million unique visitors and 49,711 complaints issued by users.
Internet Service Costly for Africa
The BBC Online Network reported on a claim by the Kenya Internet Service Providers Association that the African continent is losing millions of dollars just by connecting to the Internet.
According to the report, Africa loses approximately US$500 million each year because regulations set forth by the International Telecommunications Union are not being followed in the case of Internet service providers connecting to worldwide networks.
ITU regulations were set up to split the cost of telephone calls between Africa and the West evenly, but the full cost of the Internet connections are being applied instead.
French Inboxes Bombarded with Promotional E-mails
A recent report by research firm NetValue observes a high percentage of promotional e-mails find their way to French Internet users' inboxes.
In December 2001, NetValue reports that 37 percent of all e-mails sent in the month were promotional materials. The report also indicates the distribution of promotional e-mails declined somewhat in January 2002, with a little less than 30 percent being of the promotional type. Overall, French users receive, on average, 12 promotional emails per month.
ISPs were the main culprit of promotional e-mail overload in France, representing 46.8 percent of the total 75.6 million promotional e-mails received. Music and book companies ranked second with 19.5 percent of the total and lotteries were third at 19.2 percent.
Dutch Online Ad Sales Decline Sharply in February
Reporting on BBC de Media data, Europemedia described a significant decline in online ad spend by the Dutch during February 2002, over the previous year's data.
January 2002 online ad spends increased marginally, but the month was followed by a decline of 37 percent in online ad spending for the Netherlands in February. The two-month total for 2002 was EUR 1.1 million, whereas the two months in 2001 racked up EUR 1.5 million.
If Made to Choose, US Kids Pick the Internet
Knowledge Networks and Statistical Research teamed up to research which media U.S. kids would choose if they could only have one: the Internet, television, radio or telephone.
One-third of U.S. children between the ages of 8 and 17 chose the Internet over the other choices, with television running a close second at 26 percent. The third choice was the telephone at 21 percent. Radio lagged 15 percent.
Gender differences were apparent in the study as well, with only 28 percent of girls choosing the Internet as their media of choice as compared to 38 percent of boys opting for the Net. On average, the boys picked Internet and TV as their media staples and girls were more likely to pick the telephone and radio.
Intimidation Moves from the Playground to the Web in the UK
According to a study by children's charity NCH, U.K. children are on the receiving end of bullying e-mails, text messages and chat rooms in ever-increasing numbers.
The study indicated that one in four kids in the U.K. have been a victim of some form of bullying via online venues. Text messages were the most common route for the bullying to take, with 16 percent reporting receiving threatening or bullying messages via their mobile phones. Chatroom intimidation accounted for 7 percent of the kids' harassment claims and e-mail accounted for 4 percent. Twenty-nine percent of children told no one about the harassing incidents.