While fraud artists obviously find the Internet an effective way to reach vast numbers of potential victims, consumer protection authorities have found it also is an efficient mechanism for deterrence. Recognizing that many Net entrepreneurs seem unaware of applicable rules and regulations, the FTC has spearheaded a new approach to alerting these entrepreneurs to how they can comply with the law. Organized "surf days" prevent violations among naive or unsophisticated business people, and also alert scam artists that the FTC and its partners are on the Internet beat.

To surf, the FTC Consumer Protection staff identifies a type of deceptive practice that appears to be prominent on the Internet. Staff develops a protocol to find sites displaying the practice. Staff then recruits a cadre of surfers (federal, state, and international law enforcement agencies, and sometimes industry associations), sets a time and date, and searches the Web for sites with troubling claims. Web sites matching the profile for possible law violations are marked, downloaded, printed and sent to the FTC.

At the FTC, attorneys review the hard copy and identify sites that are most likely to be violating the law. FTC attorneys send the operators of these sites an e-mail message and/or a letter to alert and educate the operators about the FTC's jurisdiction, what the law requires of advertisers, and why the web site raises a red flag. The communications do not state that the operator has violated the law, but warn that operators in violation of the FTC Act may be subject to enforcement action. Included in the e-mail message is a link to the FTC's web page where site operators can learn more about relevant law and requirements.

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.

The FTC's seven surf efforts in 1997 (six of them inter-agency and one international) identified thousands of questionable advertisements. These efforts included:

• 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. This "mini-surf" found dozens of firms charging fees based on the false claim that they can erase accurate negative information from consumers' credit histories. Each firm received an e-mail message about the new federal credit law. Staff continues to monitor electronic credit repair ads. (March 1997)
• 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. (April 1997)
• 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. As a result of the notices, 6 sites shut down or modified their claims by the initial follow-up. (June 1997)
• A Coupon-related Business Opportunity Surf Day with the Coupon Information Center, a non-profit organization that battles costly coupon fraud. This effort disclosed unsupportable income claims by 31 work-at-home coupon-clipping businesses. (August 1997)
• An International Health Claims Surf Day, conducted with government agencies from the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as private organizations such as the American Heart Association and American Cancer Society. The search focused on claims for products or services that promised to cure or prevent cancer, heart disease, AIDS, diabetes, arthritis, or multiple sclerosis. The surfers identified more than 400 web sites, plus many Usenet news groups that flaunted suspicious claims. FTC staff sent e-mail messages to sites, alerting them that their claims require scientific substantiation, requesting the substantiation as necessary, and letting them know how the FTC acts to stop harmful claims. (October 1997)
• A HUD Tracers Surf Day, conducted jointly with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, searched for web sites that falsely claimed to be authorized by HUD to either trace money owed consumers as part of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) mortgage insurance refund program or sell business opportunities to do HUD tracing. Law enforcement agents identified 330 web sites, news group postings, and bulk e-mail messages that included questionable earnings claims or claimed to be affiliated with or authorized by HUD. Site operators were told that if their claims could not be substantiated, they could be violating the law. One month after the warnings were sent, 70 percent of the sites had been taken down or questionable material had been changed. (November 1997)
• An International Internet Surf Day sponsored by the International Marketing Supervision Network, an association of consumer protection agencies from over two dozen countries. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission coordinated the international surfers while the FTC organized U.S. participants including 23 states, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Surfers in the U.S. identified 168 web sites promoting possible pyramid schemes or business opportunities. Possible pyramid sites received messages that explained the distinction between multi-level marketing plans and illegal pyramid schemes. Business opportunity promoters received messages emphasizing their legal obligation to post truthful earnings claims, and to be able to substantiate those claims. One month after the warnings were sent, 31 of the sites had been removed or modified to eliminate apparent misrepresentations. (November 1997)