While many students may be well into their course reading for the semester, those whose professors used Mozena Publishing, Inc. for its custom course packets may be lagging behind in their reading because of the delays and complications inherent in Mozena Publishing and its company Web site, MozenaPublishing.com.
Unbeknownst to many professors and customers of Mozena, its Web site has a crucial flaw that could seriously hurt students, and anyone else who purchases from the company. Worse yet, the flaw is not even hard to find.
The problem is, when ordering from Mozena’s Web site, the company fails to provide the consumer with any form of Internet protection against hackers. This means when a customer gives Mozena its personal information, such as a credit card number, checking account number, name, e-mail address, telephone number and shipping address, all of’this’is subject to hackers and identity thieves.
Such information may be intercepted and misused because Mozena does not have a secure Web site. Most reputable online companies and banks, such as PayPal, eBay, Amazon.com, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, provide their customers with adequate Internet protection to keep customers and their private information safe and secure.
When you send those companies information, it is electronically stored in packets of code – packets that are at often 128-bit encrypted to prevent other, less trustworthy people from abusing or stealing your information.
Alarmingly, Mozena does not do this. When students send Mozena their information, they are sending them unencrypted, unprotected packets of information that could be subject to hacker infiltration. It’s a risky maneuver, to say the least.
But how does one tell if a company is providing you with safe, secure Internet transactions?
According to the California Department of Consumer Affairs, consumers can tell whether or not a Web site is secure by looking at its Web address. If the address has “https” instead of “http,” it is using some form of Internet protection. You can also tell by looking at your browser and finding a small graphic of a lock, which indicates that the Web site will encrypt your information to keep you protected.
Mozena Publishing is an unsecured “http” address.
There is potential for an incredible amount of damage that can be imposed against anyone when his or her personal information is unprotected online, but college students are especially vulnerable to the kinds of harm a hacker can inflict.
Most college students are just establishing themselves financially and are not necessarily as comfortable or responsible with their finances as other, more well-established adults.
Unfortunately, this is not the only thing wrong with Mozena Publishing’s Web site. Another complication that makes getting a course packet from Mozena difficult is the way the Web site configures the prices of its products.
Unlike other Web sites that inform consumers of the price of a product before buying it (which use standard information like drop-down menus or simple text) Mozena does not include the price of its product.
Customers have to enter in the price they think it costs, and if their instructor doesn’t inform them of the price beforehand, students can only guess what the price of anything may be. The same goes for the product itself, where students have to enter as much information as possible so that the company can figure out which text is being ordered.
In other words, for 2007 standards, the lack of standard online shopping features on Mozena’s Web site is quite frustrating.
Costumers also have to pay $14.99 for shipping and handling, a steep price considering the company is based only miles up the 405 Freeway in Carson. Picking up your packet to save shipping costs is also not an option.
The only exceptions to the $14.99 shipping and handling fee are “online-order-only class[es].”
This may change in fall of 2007, when, according to journalism professor Heloiza Herscovitz, Mozena Publishing may open a Long Beach store.
The frustrations do not end there. If costumers try to call the publishing company, according to its Web site, they may be charged an extra $20. Twenty dollars is a huge deterrent to trying to give a company a call to straighten things out.
If students do venture out and try to contact Mozena, either via e-mail or phone, they would have better luck getting a hold of the president of the United States. The Daily Forty-Niner tried repeatedly to speak with a representative to explain and clarify its company practices both by phone and e-mail with no reply.
So why are professors using this company if it’s giving students so much grief? The answer is one word: money.
According to several professors, professors who use Mozena receive a small sum from the company when they initially sign up and even receive an occasional bonus from Mozena afterward.
But the amount of money professors receive from Mozena, which is described by most teachers as “small” or “minimal,” isn’t what keeps many professors from using other companies – it’s the customer service Mozena Publishing provides to the professors.
Although contacting a representative from Mozena as a student seems to be a nearly impossible task, Mozena manages to keep in regular contact with the professors who use its services. It makes sure that professors are satisfied with the service, and goes out of its way to accommodate professors – a courtesy it certainly doesn’t provide to students.
Luckily, there are alternatives to Mozena for professors to use.
One is Krishna Copy Pro. (located on the corner of Atherton and Palo Verde). According to Sanjay Guragain, manager at Krishna Copy Pro., the store accepts Microsoft Word files, PDFs and hardcopies to make its services as convenient as possible for professors, a service Mozena also provides.
Put simply, as it’s currently operating, Mozena Publishing is an unsafe alternative to the University Bookstore and has the potential to cause students more harm than good.
