1. Ready, Click, Spend!CyberMonday

2. INTRODUCTION Sales online havesoaredovertheyears and a simple drive downthestripmallfilled Streets of Americawillexposetheghosttownsthatwere once a thrivingbusinesszone. Online shopping has exploded in recentyears as allmajorretailers as diverse as Target and Neiman-Marcus havefoughtfortheir share of theprofits. CyberMonday, theMondayafterThanksgiving, isone of thebusiestdays of theyearfor online shopping.

3. Ready, Click, Spend!CyberMonday MostAmericanscelebrateThanksgiving. They share a festivemeal, watchfootball, and enjoyeachother’scompany. Forsomepeople, shopping is a bigpart of theirThanksgivingtradition as well. Formanyyears, thedayafterThanksgiving has beenthebusiest shopping day of theyear. Manystoreshave sales onthatday. Manypeoplegotothe sales so they can savemoney. Theshoppers are lookingforbargains. Thisbusy shopping dayiscalled “Black Friday.”

4. Recently, researchershavenoticedanotherbusy shopping day. Thisdayis a littledifferent. Itisthebusiestday of theyearfor online shopping. TheMondayafterThanksgiving has becomeknown as “CyberMonday.” Onthisday, more and more shoppersbuytheirholidaygifts online.

5. Oneorganizationtook a survey. Thesurveyfoundthat 80 percent of Internet usersbuygifts online. Somecitieshave more online shoppersthanothers. Thesurveyfoundthatshoppers in onecitywillspendonethird of theirholidaybudget online.

6. But, mostshoppersstill do notwanttobuy online. They are afraidto use theircreditcardon a Website. Theyfearthattheircreditcardnumberwillbestolen. TheyworrythatretailWebsites are notsecure. They are afraidthat shopping sitescouldbehackedinto. Their personal bankinginformationcouldbestolen. Thisiscalledfraud.

7. Shopping online is a new wayforpeopleto shop. Anexpert in preventingfraudsaysshoppersshouldbecareful. He saysthat online shoppersshould use cautionwhenthey shop online. He has somehelpfultipstokeepshopperssafe. Ifyou decide to shop online, followthese rules:

8. First, don’tfollowan email link to a shopping Website. The link could lead to a fakesite. Typetheretailers’ addressintoyour browser yourself. Also, makesurethatyou are shopping on a secure server. Youshouldsee a littlelock at thebottom of thescreen. Thepicturemeansyou are on a secure server and it’ssafeto shop. Onelasttipistoavoidusingdebitcards online. Creditcards are a saferchoice. Thesurveypredictsthat more peoplewill shop online in thefuture. Butholidayshopperswillstill shop in storestofindgoodbargains.

10. Anexpert in fraudpreventionsaidshoppersjusthavetobecareful. "Ifyou are as cautious online as you are whenyou'reactuallybuyingthings in the offline world, e-commerceissafe," said Bill Rosenkranz of Symantec. "Youjusthavetobe a little more wary. It's a new channel. It's a new wayforpeopleto shop."

11. Hereare some safety recommendationsfor shopping online:1. Don'tfollowan e-mail link toan e-commercesite -- that link could lead tofakesites. Typeretailers' Web addressesintoyour browser yourself.2. Makesureyou'redealingwith a secure Internet server -- such servers show a smalllock pop up at thebottom of your browser screen.3. Avoidusingdebitcards online. Creditcardsoffer more protection in theevent of creditoridentitytheft.

13. QUESTIONS How can youtellif a websiteissecure? Whyshouldshoppers use cautionwhen shopping online? Whyshouldyouonly shop onsecurewebsites? Whatis online fraud? Whatdidthesurveystudy? Whyshouldn'tyoufollowan email link to a shopping site? Why do storeshave sales onthedayafterThanksgiving? Why do manypeoplego shopping on Black Friday?