Originally published December 1 2005
New government website protects consumers from internet fraud
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The "Looks Too Good To Be True" site includes stories of real-life scams, warnings and educational quizzes for consumers. The site hopes to educate consumers before they are taken in.
The "Looks Too Good To Be True" site, launched Monday, includes real-life scam tales, new warnings, and quizzes designed to educate consumers.
"Law enforcement can only do so much,'' said Dan Mihalko, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Among the tales on the new Web site: The story of a woman who was duped by a would-be lover after joining an online dating site.
She fell for a man named Cole who said he was in Lagos, Nigeria, and cashed a series of checks for him.
The Web site is a cooperative effort of the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, the postal inspection service, and several private firms, including Monster.com and Target Corp. Consumers can also order free educational DVDs from the site.
The redoubled efforts at consumer education also come within days of a new study released by Consumers Union indicating increased distrust is making consumers shy away from the Internet.
The study suggested 25 percent of consumers said they'd stopped shopping online because of concerns about privacy and crime.
Nearly one-third said they'd altered their online behavior in some way.
But the news from the research world isn't all bad.
A study released Oct. 19 by ACNielsen Online suggested that one-tenth of the world's population had purchased at least one item from the Internet, and over 300 million people had made a purchase in the past month.
Donna Gregory, spokeswoman for the Internet Crime Complaint Center, said she was optimistic that LooksTooGoodToBeTrue.com would get the attention of consumers.
While her agency issues alerts on its Web site, consumers often miss them, or only find them after they've been defrauded, she said.
Cooperation from private companies is a key element, she said, with some merchants planning to include a link to the site in the confirmation e-mails they send after a consumer purchase.
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