Australian based websites will be scrutinised for false and misleading testimonials, guarantees and endorsements as part of the 10th annual international internet sweep.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Deputy Chair, Ms Louise Sylvan said when faced with a glowing testimonial or endorsement the big question is who can you trust?
"Testimonials, guarantees and endorsements can be positive online marketing tools – all used to gain consumer trust. However, in the hands of unscrupulous traders, these tools can be used to mislead and disappoint.
"Traders who exploit consumer trust are the official target for the 2007 International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network's* (ICPEN) Internet Sweep," Ms Sylvan said.
This week thousands of websites and emails will be examined by consumer protection agencies from more than 20 countries in a worldwide sweep for online traders illegally misleading consumers.
In 2007, the ACCC will be aiming to expose Australian based e-commerce websites and spam that make 'too good to be true' and absolute claims which appear to be genuine because of the use of testimonials, guarantees/trustmarks and endorsements.
"Australian sweepers will look very closely at questionable green or environmental claims, weight loss, body enhancement, work from home, online dating and complementary medicine related websites.
"Traders associated with websites that raise concern will be asked to verify their claims," Ms Sylvan said. "For example they will be asked to provide the details of the customers who have provided the testimonials."
Advice for consumers who want to foil traders ready to betray their trust:
guarantees, trustmarks and logos can be decoys. Check that telephone numbers and contact details are true, from phone books, industry associations and internet searches.
check that the use of trustmarks, guarantees and logos is genuine. Contact the provider to confirm.
testimonials can provide useful information, but they can also be fake. Match what is being said with the product. If the claims sound too good to be true they probably are.
note the names attached to a testimonial to see if they could be real. An initial and a country may not be enough.
endorsements by celebrities can add glamour to a product. Check if the endorsement is true eg via the celebrity's official website or the manufacturer.
avoid money transfers and direct debit as these are the scammer's favourite tools.
pay safely – only use a secure site and pay by credit card or similar.
Media inquiries
Ms Louise Sylvan, Deputy Chair, (02) 6243 1138 or 0410 610 326
International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network
The International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) is a network of government agencies involved in the enforcement of fair trading laws and other consumer protection activities.
Current participants:
Australia Austria Azerbaijan Belgium Canada Chile Czech Republic Demark
Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland
Italy Japan Rep. of Korea Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta
Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Norway People's Republic of China Poland Portugal Slovakia
Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom United States European Union OECD
How the sweep works
The sweep topic is decided by the members of ICPEN. This year the topic is 'who can you trust (online)? Targeting testimonials, guarantees (trustmarks) and endorsements'. Each agency then tailors the topic to suit its own priorities.
Sweepers use predetermined search terms to come up with a list of websites to check. Each website is then inspected and suspicious sites are flagged for further investigation.
The ACCC will coordinate the joint action from its sweep headquarters in Canberra. ACCC regional offices will also host internet sweep activities.
