Surf Days

Overview
The Federal Trade Commission devised the Internet “Surf Day” in 1996 as an efficient way to look for pyramid schemes online. Since then, the law enforcement Surf Day has become a popular tool for the Commission and other agencies to identify online scams of all kinds. In the past three years, the Commission has participated in some 18 Surf Days with over 150 agencies in the U.S. and 25 other countries, identifying an estimated 4,000 commercial Web sites making apparently false or misleading claims. The Commission also has used Surf Days to get a snapshot of other online practices, such as the posting of privacy policies and the nature of information about Y2K compliance. FTC Surf Days have focused on:


 * Health Claims. In 1997 and 1998, the Commission participated in two Surf Days with officials from 25 countries to learn about Web sites promoting products to treat six major diseases. In just a few hours, law enforcement agents were able to identify approximately 800 Web sites and Usenet newsgroup messages making questionable claims.
 * Pyramids. In 1996 and 1999, two Surf Days with dozens of states, the SEC, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service found over 1,000 Web sites promoting apparently unlawful pyramid schemes.
 * Business and Investment Opportunities. In 1997 and 1998, Surf Days with participation by more than 50 federal and state agencies identified over 600 Web sites making questionable business and investment opportunity claims.
 * Junk Email. The FTC browsed its own enormous database of unsolicited email -- which the Commission had invited consumers to forward -- and found over 1,000 of them problematic.

An efficient tool, the law enforcement surf accomplishes two objectives: it provides a window for law enforcement to learn about online practices, and it provides an opportunity for the FTC to alert Web site operators -- some of whom are new entrepreneurs unaware of existing laws -- if their sites appear to violate the law. This is done by emailing messages to the operators of sites with problems, explaining why their sites may violate the law and providing a link to the FTC Web site, where more information is available. Follow-up visits reveal that of the operators who are notified that their sites may violate the law, 20 to 70 percent improve or remove their sites. Web site operators who continue questionable practices may become the subjects of FTC law enforcement efforts.