Europe plans crackdown on email scams
Published: 03 Jan 2007 08:32 GMT
Email scammers will be left with "nowhere to hide" following moves to tighten up European consumer protection, according to the government.
The Consumer Protection Co-operation (CPC) regulation, which comes into force this month, will help tackle rogue traders who prey on consumers across European borders by establishing a network of national enforcement bodies with powers to work together across the EU.
Previously, wide differences in the structures and methods of enforcement authorities have hampered prosecutions, but the new regulations require enforcement bodies to help each other by exchanging information and co-operating on cross-border cases.
The UK's co-ordinating enforcement body will be the Office of Fair Trading.
The new measures will tackle cross-border scams including email scams and illegal prize draws; misleading advertising and pressure selling; phone scams based in other EU countries; and timeshare and holiday-club rogue traders.
Consumer minister Ian McCartney said in a statement: "Joined-up enforcement across the EU will help to stamp out scams and leave the sharks with nowhere to hide."
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