FTC investigators and attorneys, who have made follow-up site visits approximately a month after surf days, have found that 18 to 70 percent of the questionable sites had been eliminated or revised. If an advertiser continues to make misleading or deceptive claims, staff may open investigations and pursue law enforcement efforts. A Credit Repair Surf Day , conducted with staff from the office of the Attorney General of Illinois just before the Credit Repair Organization Act became effective in April 1997. The Act prohibits credit repair organizations from requesting or collecting a fee until they have performed the promised services and protects consumers from unfair or deceptive advertising and business practices by these organizations. Each firm received an e-mail message about the new federal credit law.
Staff continues to monitor electronic credit repair ads.
A Business Opportunities Surf Day that uncovered several hundred Internet sites making suspicious earnings claims for start-up businesses. One month after sending instructive e-mails, staff found that nearly 23 percent of the sites had removed their questionable earnings claims or their entire solicitation from the Internet. A ScholarScam Surf Day , conducted with Commission staff and the office of the Attorney General of New York. The surf targeted deceptive scholarship offers. Commission staff sent notices to operators of 28 web sites, alerting them that the Commission recently had filed suits against companies making the same or similar claims about their ability to obtain scholarships for students.