ACCC steps up consumer protection on-line

Consumers have more opportunities to protect themselves and others against scams in cyberspace after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission upgrade of its Slam A Cyberscam website.

"Slam-A-Cyberscam is an automated service with the capacity to take thousands of complaints at a time about illegal on-line selling practices", ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said today.

"The information will assist the ACCC to identify emerging problems in electronic commerce and deal with them swiftly.

"Businesses must remember that consumers have the same rights on-line as they do off-line. These rights cannot be denied or over-ridden.

"The site can be directly accessed through the link below.

"The new site will take details of a complaint including allegations of illegal conduct. The information will be reviewed by the ACCC and, where necessary, acted upon.

"Complaints can be anonymous but for the ACCC to take action, full information is preferable.

"This expanded site follows on from the ACCC's commitment to educating and protecting consumers - and businesses - using electronic commerce.

"The ACCC has been a leader in encouraging the development of international protocols for electronic commerce and has organised four international Internet sweeps to detect and remove sites which breach consumer protection or fair trading laws.

"The ACCC has a commitment to providing consumers with the best possible access to the organisation. The upgraded site is another example of this.

"The ACCC will continue to take steps that will expand its capacity to deal with the increasingly electronic nature of commerce in Australia".