The US Federal Trade Commission worked with consumer protection agencies from the UK, Canada, Australia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and Norway.
The US FTC and the UK DTI and OFT also announced an information sharing and co-ordination agreement to combat cross-border fraud. The top 10 targeted scams were:
Announcement of the international law enforcement effort was made in conjunction with a meeting of the International Marketing Supervision Network (IMSN), a group consisting of consumer protection enforcement authorities from 29 countries. The IMSN facilitates practical actions to prevent and redress deceptive marketing practices with an international component.
Four FTC cases filed in US courts charge individuals with operating internet auction scams. The complaints allege that the defendants advertised computer software and electronic consumer goods at various e-auction sites, took cashier's checks or money orders in payment but never delivered the goods.
In one internet cramming case brought by the FTC, defendants sent $3.50 "rebate" cheques to consumers. When consumers cashed the cheques, they were unwittingly agreeing to allow the scammers to be their ISP, and the scammers started placing monthly charges on their telephone bills. They made it nearly impossible to cancel future monthly charges and receive refunds.
The FTC is also bringing cases against web cramming, where consumers are billed for a web site page they didn't even know they had. Targeting small businesses and not-for-profit organisations, the scammers call and offer a "free" web page, then start billing phone bills without authorisation.