A man in Michigan, who was also taken by the Sarasota scammer, found a local police detective in Florida to take the case. Humphrey filed a complaint with him and the National Consumers League s Internet Fraud Watch, though no one s been arrested yet. If the scam involves lots of money and several victims, it s more likely that federal and state law enforcement will take action. Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission announced a plan to take down Web scammers and in the past few months, the U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. Postal Service and the FBI started investigating more cases. The FTC says Beanie Babies top the list of online rip-offs.
People pay up to thousands of dollars for one, but never receive the stuffed animals.
Computers and electronic equipment are other pricey items that thieves promise to send only after payment arrives. The FBI recently started investigating people who log on as different users and bid on their own auction items in an effort to boost the price. Others enter false positive feedback about themselves in order to get buyers to trust them. Despite the publicity about Internet fraud, it s still not a common practice by all accounts, even though more and more people are shopping online each year. EBay, the largest online auction site, says it currently has 12 million registered users.