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"All of us are consumers, all of us deserve the right to be protected against fraudulent or misleading advertising and labels" , John F. Kennedy

Did you know that World Consumer Rights Day has been celebrated every 15 March since 1983?

It all started when the then President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, began his speech on consumer rights on 15 March 1962 with: "We are all consumers, we all deserve the right to be protected against fraudulent or misleading advertising and labels".

This anniversary is really important, especially with a global marketplace that's just a click away. 

In Portugal there are various bodies and initiatives that look after consumer rights, such as the Directorate General for the Consumer, DECO - The Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection and, in the field of e-commerce, the CONFIO initiative.

Being a more informed consumer is becoming more and more important, online shopping is where we are most exposed and vulnerable and therefore requires our utmost attention so that we don't fall victim to fraudulent sales and cyber-attacks, which can jeopardise the privacy of our data. It's important to check that the website is credible, that the organisation is identified, that it has Terms and Conditions, return policies and mechanisms for mediation and out-of-court arbitration of conflicts.

However, even on credible websites, there may be situations where we are obliged to take action.