International Enforcement Network Meets in Costa Rica to Address Cross-Border Consumer Fraud

Costa Rica's President, Laura Chinchilla, U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica, Anne Slaughter Andrew, and FTC Commissioner Edith Ramirez are among the 170 consumer protection officials and other dignitaries from more than 40 countries participating in the annual meeting of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) taking place in San Jose, Costa Rica from February 27 through March 2. ICPEN is a network of consumer protection authorities comprised of members from 42 countries and partners from 11 additional jurisdictions.

At the meeting, participants will review international efforts to combat cross-border consumer fraud and explore new global consumer protection initiatives. They will explore current issues facing consumer protection authorities, such as false advertising, wire transfer fraud, and the new enforcement challenges posed by emerging online and mobile payments. FTC Commissoiner Edith Ramirez will deliver a speech on consumer protection issues posed by the expansion of the top level domain name system operated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Following the main meeting, ICPEN will present a two-day 'best practices" training on topics such as conducting investigations of "negative-option" Internet scams and innovative approaches to consumer education.