On April 24, 2001, responding to the challenges of multinational Internet fraud, and working to enhance consumer protection and consumer confidence in e-commerce, thirteen countries unveiled econsumer.gov, a joint effort to gather and share cross-border e-commerce complaints.

The project has two components: a multilingual public Web site, and a government, password-protected Web site. The public site provides general information about consumer protection in all countries that belong to the ICPEN (International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network), contact information for consumer protection authorities in those countries, and an online complaint form.

All information is available in English, French, German, and Spanish. Using the existing Consumer Sentinel network (a database of consumer complaint data and other investigative information operated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission), the incoming complaints will be shared through the government Web site with participating consumer protection law enforcers.   More detail...