The California Department of Corporations announced on Thursday the formation of the Escrow Fraud Task Force to coordinate fraud prevention and enforcement action by state and federal regulators, law enforcement, industry groups, and businesses against fraudulent escrow companies operating on the Internet.

"Internet escrow fraud is widespread. It is criminal," said Corporations Commissioner William P. Wood. "For the first time, we have a coordinated strategy to quickly seek out and eliminate these online criminals. The rate of phony escrow sites popping up on the Internet is alarming and underscores the immediate need for cross-coordination between state and federal regulators, law enforcement, industry groups, and businesses."

The Escrow Fraud Task Force will be lead by California Corporations Commissioner William P. Wood and a representative from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Southern California High Tech Task Force, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and the Escrow Institute of California.

To help educate and protect Internet users during the busy holiday shopping season, the Escrow Fraud Task Force members provided consumers with 10 Tips to Avoid Internet Escrow Fraud available on its Web site.

http://www.corp.ca.gov/ole/ole.htm