Congress Gathering Data
On Online Auction Fraud

June 26, 2001
Members of Congress would like to hear what eBay, Yahoo and Amazon.com have to say about the prevalence of online auction fraud.

Tauzin

Wilson

Reps. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Heather A. Wilson, (R-NM) have written to the CEOs of each of the companies, asking how the fraud occurs and what the companies are doing to stop it.

The lawmakers cited findings from a recent study by the Internet Fraud Complaint Center that showed online auction scams accounted for about 64 percent of all fraud complaints received by the center from May to November 2000.

Company officials were asked what types of fraud occurred in online auctions, what rules existed for dealing with disguised identities and if these rules might actually aid fraudulent practices, and whether certain state laws or regulations interfered with the ability to combat online fraud.

The committee is expected to hold hearings on the issue later.

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