EBay to Submit User Complaints to FTC

EBay Inc., the largest Internet auction operator, said it will assist the Federal Trade Commission and other law enforcement agencies combating the fastest-growing type of fraud by turning over complaints by its customers. The information that EBay will provide to the FTC can be used by more than 200 law enforcement agencies that are grappling with an explosion in Internet auction fraud. The announcement came as officials from the FTC, the Justice Department, the U.S. postal inspector’s office and the National Consumers League held a news conference kicking off National Consumer Protection Week. The FTC said it received about 10,700 complaints about Internet auctions in 1999, 100 times the number it received two years earlier. Authorities encouraged the use of credit cards for purchases and warned buyers to be wary of vendors asking for money orders or certified checks in advance. Consumers should identify the seller of the goods and read feedback from other customers, authorities said. Shares of EBay fell 75 cents to close at $154.13 in Nasdaq trading.