The subcommittee on investigations of the U.S. Senate's Committee on Governmental Affairs will take a sharp look at Internet fraud in a hearing scheduled for early next month. The Internet offers several advantages to con artists. One is anonymity. Moreover, the very process of interacting on the Internet, including the informal code of behavior called netiquette, seems to lower consumers' guard. Nineteen people fell for the ploy, officials say.
Con artists market their ploys on Web sites, in chat rooms and newsgroups, and in E-mail.
Some put an online twist on their pitch. More dangerous, however, are the new scams that take advantage of the Internet's technological capabilities. And there are more sophisticated ploys. They had no idea until they received astronomical phone bills. U.S. officials charged that a Moldovan phone company and the porn site owners made huge profits.