Group publishes shopping guide to help users steer clear of shady online retail and auction sites.
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has published a 10-step guide aimed at helping
shoppers avoid notorious online software scammers. More users are unwittingly
buying illegal software over the Internet, and the organization hopes these
steps will help users ferret out the good sites from the bad:
1. Trust your instincts. If a price for
software seems too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Make sure it's authentic. Be wary of
software products that come without any documentation or manuals.
3. Read the label. Be wary of products
that do not look genuine such as those with hand-written labels and watch out
for products labeled as academic, OEM, NFR or CDR.
4. Beware of back-ups. Take special care
to avoid sellers offering to make 'back-up' copies or citing Section 117 of the
Copyright Act.
5. Steer clear of compilations. Avoid
compilations of software titles from different publishers on a single disk.
6. Do your homework. Check the feedback
section on the auction site to find comments about the seller based on previous
transactions. Keep in mind that a clean complaint record doesn't always ensure
that you will receive genuine product.
7. Get the seller's address. Remember that
if you cannot re-contact the seller, you may have no recourse if the product
turns out to be pirated.
8. Keep Receipts. Print out a copy of your
order number and sales confirmation and keep them at least until your software
arrives in satisfactory condition.
9. Be careful when crossing the border. Be
especially cautious when dealing with software sellers in other countries.
10. Report piracy. Buyers suspecting
software piracy, counterfeit software and/or fraud on auction sites should
contact the software manufacturer or the BSA.
