Uncle
Sam Cracks Down Online!
by Jim
Edwards
http://www.thenetreporter.com
In a recent
move that rocked the online world and left many Internet marketers
shaking in their boots, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initiated
a sweeping crackdown on what they termed "Internet Scammers"
and "Deceptive Spammers."
The FTC,
along with state and federal officials, filed 45 criminal and
civil law enforcement actions and froze the corporate and personal
assets of some defendants.
According
to the FTC, they went after a wide array of deceptive schemes
and illegal scams including auction fraud, illegal sale of controlled
substances, bogus business opportunities, deceptive money-making
scams, illegal advance-fee credit card offers, and identity
theft.
In other
words, Uncle Sam gave notice that people can no longer treat
the Internet like the Wild, Wild West!
I welcome
this long overdue crackdown on real Internet evildoers. For
years, honest business owners suffered because Internet scammers
caused consumer fear and reluctance to conduct business online.
As the government cleans up the back alleys of the Internet,
consumer confidence will rise and sales will increase.
However,
as with any crusade to bring about law and order, innocent and
honest businesses stand a REAL chance of getting caught in the
crossfire.
Let's face
it, if you get named in a lawsuit by the government - even though
you may be innocent - you'll still lose a lot of time, energy,
emotion, and money defending yourself.
If you operate
any business online, or plan to set one up, the following guidelines
should help you avoid problems.
Always Tell The Truth
Actually,
this basic lesson from your Mom ranks the best way to avoid
all kinds of trouble! "The truth shall set you free"
ranks just as appropriate in the online world as in the offline
world.
In fact,
in the light of recent events, the truth might actually keep
you out of jail!
Avoid Outrageous Claims
Don't make
outrageous claims you can't substantiate. A big difference exists
between good copywriting (salesmanship in print) and making
claims that no sane person, or at least the average person,
could ever achieve.
It's one
thing to tell people you can show them "how to get thousands
of hits to their website." It's quite another to say you
will "show them how to get 10,000 hits to their website
by tomorrow and make $15,000 this weekend."
Get The Correct Legal Documents
Every website
should maintain certain legal documents in order to operate
within the guidelines set forth by the FTC. As with any law,
ignorance of the law does not excuse disobeying the rules!
You must
know whether your business needs a disclaimer, terms of service,
privacy notice and other legal documents. And, by the way, the
time to find out you should have posted them on your site is
NOT after you've been served with legal papers by the government!
Turn the Tables
Look at
what your business promises and actually delivers from the standpoint
of a consumer.
Would you
feel happy or sad once you did business with yourself?
Would you
feel like you got your money's worth, or would you feel like
you'd been held up at gunpoint in the middle of the night in
the mini-mart parking lot?
Your gut
answer to that question will go a long way toward keeping you
out of trouble with the government.
Sort of
funny how the "Golden Rule" of "do unto others
as you would have them do unto you" keeps cropping up in
life as a way to consistently avoid trouble and heartache.
Jim Edwards
is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an
amazing new ebook, "Turn
Words Into Traffic", that will teach you how to use
free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors
to your website or affiliate link!
