The Fraud Squad-1997-08-05-Online consumer protection-Elizabeth Powell Crowe

The Internet is looking more and more like the real world, with scams, frauds, con games, and worse. But like the real world, there are resources to help you detect, avoid, and if necessary, punish such folks. With a little research, you can find excellent resources for consumer protection on the Web.

The place to start is the Consumer World site (www.consumerworld.org). This is a metapage--a categorized list o' links to more than 1,500 of the most useful consumer resources on the Internet. This well-organized guide points you to all sorts of consumer resources, from the Better Business Bureau online to information on existing and proposed consumer laws. You'll also find links to the latest information on scams and schemes, bargains and rates, and news in the consumer protection world.

Consumer World's links to hot consumer sites include details on consumer rights and how to find discount travel and low credit card and mortgage rates. The Consumer World Digest is a weekly roundup of news and information from sources such as the Federal Trade Commission, Money magazine online, BidFind (an online auction service), and the National fraud Information Center Daily Bulletin.

Once you've checked out Consumer World, your second stop should be the National Fraud Information Center (www.fraud.org). A project of the National Consumers League, the site has daily reports of frauds to watch out for, special alerts for specific groups, a page on how to contact the attorney general in the 50 states, and safe shopping tips. This site is packed with information and links to other valuable pages.

One of these is the Consumer Fraud Alert Network (www.world-wide.com/Homebiz/tele.htm), an online dossier of the more prominent scams you might encounter, what the real story is, and how to respond. Supply your email address and you'll be notified whenever the page is updated.

If you want to educate yourself or others about fraud, check out the University of Michigan's National Institute for Consumer Education (NICE) at www.emich.edu/public/coe/nice . Another good place for education resources on the subject is Project OPEN at www.isa.net/project-open. Both are dedicated to putting useful information online, though of the two, I found Project OPEN a little more helpful. Sponsored by various commercial online services and communications companies, it features information on safe surfing, intellectual property rights on the Internet, and protecting your privacy while online. The general consumer protection area has updates and news stories about online frauds, scams, and schemes; notes on how to protect yourself and report scams; and links to government sources.

Go Feds!

Speaking of government information, The Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov) site is chock-full of scam-o-rama. Check out the Consumer Protection and Guides, the FTC Consumer Line, and current news releases, such as the July eye-opener on investment schemes (www.ftc.gov/opa/9707/field.htm). The Consumer Line page is definitely worth a visit. From scholarship scams to the latest health care alerts, you'll find a wealth of insight online. A stellar feature is a search button down at the bottom of the page. If you want information on, say, home business scams, you can search the entire Web site or just the press releases, consumer publications, speeches, or commission actions. It's a fast way to find exactly what you want.

Attorney generals from several states have also put up sites to help consumers. Worth checking out are Utah's Consumer Protection site (www.commerce.state.ut.us/web/commerce/conpro/consprot.htm), Florida's Protect Yourself from Consumer Fraud (legal.firn.edu/consumer/protect.html) and California's Internet Advocacy Center (www.calweb.com/business/consumers). The United Kingdom has a site at www.open.gov.uk/oft/ofthome.htm.

Why should you bother with sites outside your home state? You'll not only get good general consumer advice, you'll be hep to any scams should you visit that area. The Utah site, for example, provides details on the leading current fraud schemes in that state, six signs you are talking to a con man, and specifics about Utah consumer law. Your state may have a similar site. Use Infoseek or another search engine to look for your state + "consumer protection."

Get Mad, Get Even

But maybe being forewarned and forearmed isn't enough for you. Maybe you want to take real action. Well, cruise on over to Scam Watch (www.scamwatch.com) for some in-your-face interaction between the scammers and the scammed. ScamWatch is a service of InterGov, a volunteer organization for self-policing the Internet. Scam Watch is a place to report abuses or suspicious activities and watch the results of the InterGov investigation. You can check out the latest reports of actual crimes and scams. When InterGov checks out a suspicious message or site, it asks the perpetrator to respond. Sometimes it finds that the product or service is legitimate. Sometimes it isn't. Either way, the results are posted along with the original complaint so you can judge for yourself. The exchanges can get heated. But be sure to check out the Good, Bad, UGLY!! list for sites and services on the Web: You'll see complaints versus compliments, spammers, customer service email addresses, and more. It's all interesting reading, even if you haven't been victimized.

There are a lot more sites out there, and the list-o'-links sites I've noted can lead you to them. So don't take any wooden nickels. Use the Internet to protect yourself!

Commercial Online Consumer Resources America Online

As you might imagine, AOL is a good source for consumer advice. Washington Consumer's Checkbook (keyword: CHECKBOOK) shows you how to get most bang for your buck while shopping and touring our nation's capital. Consumer Reports (keyword: CONSUMER REPORTS) is the online version of the venerable consumer watchdog.

CompuServe

Consumer Forum (GO CONFORUM) is the place to go when you have a gripe about cars, credit, companies or want advice on buying, money-saving, managing your personal finances, or avoiding rip-offs. There's also Consumer Reports (GO CONSUMER REPORTS), with a special area devoted to autos (GO CRAUTO). The Automobile Forum (GO CARS) focuses on buying, selling, using, and maintaining cars and often discusses scams and rip-offs. Consumer Electronics Network (GO CENET) is a collection of forums for specific consumer electronics products. Syndi-cated Columns (GO COLUMNS) include daily and weekly columns called Fight Back! and Money. Both cover issues and legislation as well as tips and how-to. Equifax Credit Infor-mation (GO EQUIFAX) will send you a copy of your credit report for $8 in most states. IQuest (GO IQuest), Knowledge Index (GO KI), and Maga-zine Database Plus (GO MAGDB) are surcharged search services that can help you retrieve specific articles and publications on consumer topics.

Prodigy

On Prodigy Classic, click Search in the menu bar and look for consumer news on the A.P. wire. But most consumer information is on Prodigy's the Business and Finance menu page.

Delphi

Delphi forums are now available via the Web. Check them out at www.delphi.com. Among those that deal with consumer issues are Personal Law, Handyman, and Radio and Electronics. Recently, the PC Compatibles forum had an interesting discussion on how computer manufacturers "play consumers like a fiddle." It's worth checking out.

--EPC

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