In other words, the discounted air fare and hotel rooms never show up. It's all been a big waste of money. While scams online are both new and old, the Internet itself creates a whole new set of problems and opportunities for law enforcement and for criminals. There are millions of people online, with thousands of new users every day. Each one of these consumers is a potential victim.
Websites abound offering both legitimate and fraudulent products and services.
Consumers often find it difficult to determine which site is truly legitimate and which one is trying to steal their hard-earned cash. Internet Fraud Watch and other groups attempt to educate consumers on how to spot a scam, but plenty of people find out too late. Those victims are not without support. Federal and state law enforcement agencies have been extremely active on the Internet. During FTC sponsored surf days, agencies from all across the globe surf the Internet looking for possible fraud.