UK consumers have in the past fallen victim to scams, such as the so-called Canadian lottery scam. It involves an unsolicited call to a consumer, advising him that he has won a large prize in a Canadian lottery. The recipient has to pay taxes or a handling fee, in order to receive the prize. Of course, he never receives anything.
Telemarketing scams and scams involving fake business directories are other examples of this type of consumer law abuse. But the internet is a particularly popular tool for foreign fraudsters. Dubious e-mail approaches urging people to part with their money often originate from overseas.
Mr Sutcliffe and John Vickers, Chairman of the Office of Fair Trading, announced yesterday that agreements had been signed with Canada and with Australia and New Zealand to encourage the sharing of information between the UK's agencies and their foreign counterparts.
The agreements are the first in the UK to cover both consumer and competition law. They are non-binding, but define the scope for co-operation and arrangements for enforcement liaison, information exchange and treatment of confidential material.
According to Mr Sutcliffe:
"These new links reflect our common determination to tackle global competition and consumer law abuses – particularly over the internet. The agreements we are signing today strengthen the relationships between our enforcement agencies, and will help us bring the scam-merchants to justice."
