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International Internet Sweep
Day
The ICPEN
conducts sweep days to target the growing number of
fraudulent and deceptive scams emerging on the Internet.
Past sweep days have been coordinated by the Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission, and involved wide
participation by Network members. Participants surfed
the Internet to identify potentially deceptive or
fraudulent sites. The sites identified were then sent
e-mail messages to make clear that relevant legislation
(such as laws against deceptive advertising) apply not
only to traditional media, but to the Internet as well.
Sweep days
enable law enforcement to use the Internet
to help ensure that unscrupulous marketers not destroy
the credibility and viability of this important
medium.
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Sweep Day 2004: "Too Good to be
True"
The 2004 sweep topic was ”Too
Good to be True” and focused on work-at-home
schemes,
lottery scams, pyramid schemes, get-rich-quick schemes,
prize or free
offers on the web and educational
offers. The key results were: 440 letters were
issued
to traders in ICPEN jurisdictions; 320 sites were either
closed or amended;
and there were 5 court actions or
court enforceable undertakings from sites that
were
seriously in breach. A remaining 307 sites were
still under investigation by numerous
agencies.
Work-at-home schemes, get-rich-quick schemes and pyramid
or multi level
marketing schemes were recorded as
giving the most concern. |
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