Europe Cracks Down on Scammers

The European Union is to bring in new measures to combat email scams.

by Helen Leggatt

The aim of the EU's Consumer Protection Co-operation regulation (CPC), is to link-up various national consumer and trade authorities across Europe and enable them to take action against individuals and companies who seek to dupe consumers.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has been appointed the UK's authority. "We believe that CPC will improve the effectiveness and enforcement of consumer legislation across Europe," said John Fingleton, the OFT’s Chief Executive. "We particularly welcome the fact that member states will now find it easier to request action overseas on behalf of consumers. This is all the more important as a great many consumers make cross-border purchases over the internet, or buy goods when travelling abroad."

Scams that will be tackled by the new CPC regulations include:

• Email scams and illegal prize draws
• Misleading advertising and pressure selling
• Phone scams based in other EU countries
• Timeshare and holiday club rogue traders

Consumer minister Ian McCartney said (via Zdnet): "Joined-up enforcement across the EU will help to stamp out scams and leave the sharks with nowhere to hide."