I know that the recent wave of Ebay fraud reports have left some members
wishing for the rest of us to get back on topic. But I saw this news
item about Internet fraud and thought I would share an excerpt from the
article.
Source : The Standard (www.thestatndard.com)
Article : The FTC's Unlikely Enforcer
Subject: Profile of Jodie Berstein, Head of the FTC's consumer fraud
bureau
[excerpt]
" But when it comes to protecting consumers, Bernstein makes sure con
artists on the
Web know she means business. This week she announced that her bureau is
aggregating
Internet auction fraud complaints from state officials, consumer groups
and online auctions
such as eBay (EBAY) into a massive database for exclusive use by law
enforcement. This
comes after the agency disclosed that it received 10,700 complaints
about online auctions
last year, up from 107 in 1997. "
[End of excerpt]
I don't know if this means action will be taken by this or any other
agency. But at least the FTC is aware and collecting the data. I hope it
does not result in regulating auction sites out the wazoo. That would
probably mean higher costs and more red tape for the seller and maybe
even the buyer.
I apologize to anyone who feels my use of bandwidth is out of line.
-C. Packard, Birmingham, Alabama USA
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