Fighting Consumer Fraud: New Tools of the Trade. A Report from the Federal Trade211 Commission

摘要

Since the days of snake oil salesmen and medicine shows, fraud operators have211u001eappealed to consumers' concerns about health, financial security, and social 211u001eacceptance. Today's conartists are pitching sure-fire cures, easy money, and self-211u001eimprovement, but they're no longer confined to traditional venues to perpetrate 211u001etheir frauds. The Internet is now mainstream, and it is allowing fraud promoters 211u001eto mimic legitimate business more convincingly-and reach potential victims more 211u001eefficiently-than ever. The Internet is quickly becoming the marketplace of choice 211u001efor a host of deceitful pyramid schemers, bogus work-at-home promoters, spurious 211u001ehealth and weight loss claims, and a new generation of fraud that uses 211u001eincreasingly sophisticated technology. Some fraudulent promoters stick to 211u001etraditional media to peddle exotic investments, phony magazine and travel offers, 211u001eand sham invention promotion services. Still others, using fire and police 211u001echarities as their cover, stay with the telephone to misrepresent that the funds 211u001ethey collect from neighbors and local businesses will go directly to community 211u001eorganizations. The Federal Trade Commission therefore focused its enforcement and 211u001eeducation efforts on novel schemes as well as traditional scams. The FTC filed 211u001eover 50 cases and orchestrated 11 major 'sweeps' with law enforcement partners in 211u001eother federal agencies and the states. These efforts resulted in an additional 211u001e374 state and federal actions. The Commission also worked to achieve greater 211u001einternational cooperation to combat cross-border fraud, step up criminal 211u001eenforcement against those who violate FTC orders, and broaden its education 211u001eprograms for consumers and business through cooperative efforts with industry 211u001eorganizations, the media, and various Internet groups. In 1997, cyber fraud 211u001eaccounted for a relatively small percentage of total consumer complaints. But, 211u001ewith electronic commerce burgeoning and the number of people online skyrocketing, 211u001eit is taking on increasing importance for consumer protection authorities. This 211u001ereport tells the story of the FTC's 1997 experience with fraud in cyberspace: how 211u001eit occurs and how the agency has refashioned the 'tools' of its trade to fight 211u001eit.