Ask any group of CPAs and accounting professionals what they think about buying something over the Internet. More often than not, you'll hear a lot of warnings regarding the security of their credit cards.

Online sales have been going on for years, now, and the community still seems to be skeptical. However, a group called the Software and Information Industry Association is doing something about it.

This group of 1,000 high-tech companies has written a 16-page White Paper (in Adobe format) with guidelines on how to prevent online credit card fraud. The matter concerns businesses that process transactions as well as consumers because it is the responsibility of those conducting the transactions to ensure data is secure at all times.

The author of the paper warns that e-commerce sites must make their processes easy to use and follow and must modify their business operation to make sure users have a sense of privacy and security. Otherwise, consumers will go elsewhere.