Markets Wired

The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection will host a half-day roundtable discussion on phishing education on Tuesday, April 1, 2008. Phishing is a form of online identity theft that uses deceptive spam to trick consumers into divulging sensitive or personal information, including credit card numbers and other financial data, either through email or a link to a copycat site. The roundtable event will provide an opportunity for experts from business, government, the technology sector, the advocacy community, academia, and the media to discuss new strategies to increase awareness of the issue and decrease risky online behavior.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the FTC’s conference center, 601 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. Doors will open at 8:30 a.m. It will begin with a guided discussion on the problem and current efforts to fight phishing attacks and educate consumers. A working session where participants will develop plans to increase consumer awareness about phishing will follow.

The event is open to the public. Those planning to attend should email Rosario Méndez at rmendez@ftc.gov. Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available. Submit your request in advance to Carrie McGlothlin via email (cmcgothlin@ftc.gov) or phone (202-326-3388). Please include a detailed description of the accommodation you need and how you can be reached if there are questions.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, click http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.shtm or call 1-877-382-4357. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,600 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. For free information on a variety of consumer topics, click http://ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.shtm.