There has been an increase in complaints received by the authorities of late concerning fraudulent online purchase cases. Consumers are faced with various modus operandi and fraudulent tactics when making online purchases even though the authorities have provided a safe-purchase guideline for online purchases. Hence, this qualitative study aims to analyse the legal framework surrounding consumer protection involving online shopping in Malaysia. Data were obtained using the content analysis and semi-structured interview methods. Findings indicate that online consumers are protected under the Consumer Protection Act 1999 in cases related to fraudulent online purchases.

A misrepresentation occurs when one party makes a misleading statement that influences the other party's decision to enter into a contract. The other contracting party's voluntary permission to enter into the contract is nullified by the misleading conduct, and that party is entitled to remedies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide an analytical and critical case-by-case analysis of contract misrepresentation in Malaysian and Australian legal systems. The methodology used in this study is legal analysis approach by analysing the law and court cases in Malaysia and Australia. According to the findings, judicial judgements in Malaysia have provided remedies in some circumstances. The study discovered that in Malaysia, court rulings gave contract rescission remedies in some situations, but in others, the court awarded contract rescission along with damages. Contract rescission, on the other hand, is a remedy specifically granted under the Contracts Act 1950. This situation is perplexing because each remedy has different objectives. In comparison to Australia, where the award for each case is determined by the state's legislation, there is a major difference. By reference to the Contracts Act 1950, it is proposed that the provisions be examined to verify their appropriateness with the application of Malaysian misrepresentation laws. By referring to the legal requirements in Australia as a guideline, it is proposed that the provisions in the Contracts Act 1950 be examined to guarantee their appropriateness with the application of Malaysian misrepresentation laws.

Cases of online purchase fraud are escalating and this has created concerns about the level of security available for online users. Previous studies have provided solutions to deal with the risk of fraud when using the Internet but no study has focused on discussions about the strategies employed by the Malaysian authorities when dealing with online purchase fraud. Therefore, this study aims to discuss the strategies employed by Malaysian authorities to make online purchasing safe for online users. This qualitative study employed the interview method and content analysis to collect and analyse data, respectively. The documents analysed included journal articles by past researchers, while interviews were conducted with government and non-government agencies that are directly involved with online users. Findings show that the authorities have disseminated consumer information and education through the media, provided channels for lodging complaints, communicated directly with sales service providers, conducted monitoring and inspections, enforced the disclosure of eight vital pieces of information according to P.U (A) 458, encouraged the procurement of the SSM BizTrust certificate, established collaborations with related agencies and conducted research. It is hoped that the suggested improvements can be implemented so that the implemented strategies can have a more positive effect.

It is widely known that online shopping has several advantages including time and energy-saving as well as its diversity in making choices. In spite of that, online purchasing activities are prone to a certain number of misuses, particularly to the exposure of fraud and deception by online merchants. Therefore, this article intended to address the necessity for a specific and clear definition of deceit in the context of online purchases. The need for up-to-date legal provisions is crucial to ensure consumers’ protection from any acts of deception by irresponsible merchants, taking into account the act of misleading consumers through unclear definitions and elements of deceit within online purchases in accordance with existing laws. Using content analysis methodology, the existing legal provisions on fraud have been reviewed by focusing on Section 17 of the Contracts Act 1950 in Malaysia alongside regulations on e-commerce fraud practices implemented in the United States, European Union, and Australia. Furthermore, a review of literature from past scholars is included to evaluate their point of view towards e-commerce deception. This article finds that there is a need to provide a distinct and precise definition of deceit and fraud against online purchases through existing legal provisions. It is suggested that Section 17 of the Contracts Act 1950 should include terms that denote its application in the electronic context apart from improving and clarifying the definition and elements of existing provisions to ensure the protection of consumers from the acts of deceit in online purchases.

Aktiviti melakukan pembelian secara dalam talian sudah tidak asing lagi pada hari ini. Pembelian dalam talian mendapat pilihan pengguna kerana terdapat kepelbagaian pilihan dan kemudahan kaedah pembelian yang ternyata boleh dilakukan dari kediaman masing-masing tanpa perlu bersesak-sesak di pasar raya. Tambahan pula, kemunculan pandemik Covid-19 mendesak sebilangan perniagaan untuk menutup operasi secara bersemuka ketika Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan dikuatkuasakan. Malah, promosi jualan murah yang sering diadakan menjadikan pengguna berpusu-pusu memasuki platform e-dagang bagi merebut tawaran yang disediakan. Namun, malang sekali apabila banyak pihak telah mengambil kesempatan melalui medium pembelian tanpa sempadan ini dengan bertindak tanpa etika seperti menjalankan aktiviti penipuan dalam urus niaga. Oleh itu, bagi melindungi pengguna, pihak KPDNHEP telah mewajibkan setiap peniaga mendedahkan lapan maklumat bagi meraih kepercayaan pengguna untuk memastikan pembelian yang dilakukan adalah selamat dan diyakini. Perkara ini telah disenaraikan dalam Peraturan 3 melalui Peraturan Perlindungan Pengguna (Urus Niaga Perdagangan Elektronik) 2012. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif menerusi kaedah analisis kandungan, kertas kerja ini akan melihat komponen pendedahan maklumat yang sepatutnya disertakan dalam Peraturan 3 untuk mengetahui sama ada perkara yang disenaraikan memadai bagi memastikan pengguna berurusan dengan peniaga yang bertanggungjawab, di samping turut mengambilkira kemampuan pendedahan komponen tersebut untuk mengelak pengguna daripada ditipu. Dapatan kertas kerja ini seterusnya akan menonjolkan beberapa penambahbaikan yang boleh dimasukkan dalam Peraturan 3. Kata kunci: pendedahan maklumat, ketidakseimbangan maklumat, pengguna, penipuan dalam talian, pembelian dalam talian