Microsoft Teams With USPS, FTC, And Western Union For PSAs

by Gavin O'Malley, Sep 29, 2009, 6:05 PM

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Microsoft, in collaboration with the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Western Union, on Tuesday launched a series of online public service announcements concerning various online scams.

Specifically, the new PSAs warn consumers about scams related to mortgage foreclosure rescue offers, and those that promise credit repair and advance fee fraud -- also known as lottery scams.

The search advertising-driven PSAs will appear on Bing, Microsoft's new search engine, and attempt to target the consumers who are most vulnerable to these types of Internet crimes.

"This program can help fight back against scams by reminding consumers to exercise their street smarts online," said Nancy Anderson, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel for Microsoft.

The PSAs for each issue will be triggered by a series of targeted search terms entered on Bing, such as "foreclosure rescue," "fix my credit" and "money transfer."

Users who click on the sponsored ad will be directed to a landing page with guidance on avoiding scams and information about how to report a scam if they have been victimized.

(Landing pages on credit repair and mortgage foreclosure scams are being hosted by the FTC, while a landing page on avoiding advance fee fraud is being hosted by Microsoft.

According to Microsoft and its partners, the campaign is the first step in an ongoing campaign they are undertaking to educate consumers about the dangers of online fraud.

Microsoft and Western Union also participate in the Advance Fee Fraud Coalition, a private-sector initiative to raise public awareness and encourage victims to report these crimes to law enforcement.

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