The gap between rich and poor is ggrowing. What problems does this create? . What can be done to tackle them? v.1

In this internet age, a new online store can be opened in less than a day. This has both positive and negative consequences. While, web-based shopping has eased customer experience tremendously, it has also led to increased number of felonies. This essay discusses several approaches to tackle and curb down this problem. First and foremost, consumers need to be more aware and vigilant. In the world of internet shopping, there is no face to face communication between the buyer and the seller. Therefore, the probability of a fraud is very high. In order to curtail this, the buyer should check the reviews of the web-based store. For example, a quick check on the Facebook wall of the shop or google customer reviews will go a long way in making the consumer understand the fairness of the store. Secondly, in this age of instant online shopping the government needs to come up with contemporary, stricter rules for the internet based shops. For instance, it has been observed in South Africa that stricter punishments for internet frauds reduced the number of criminal activities by more than half. Furthermore, the internet sellers can themselves come together to form a trade organisation to impose trade rules on every seller. This will lead to a healthy and fair competition amongst the web sellers. This can be coupled with cropping up of several watchdogs to moderate the availability of such online stores. To conclude, although it seems daunting, in my view, if some of the above steps are incorporated diligently, online criminal activities will reduce considerably.