By T. Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – A group of government agencies in the St. Louis area is pooling its resources to target work at home schemes that promise employment but rarely pay out.
Irv Switzer with the Missouri Attorney General's office says it's important that different agencies share information to better help people when they complain about such frauds. He says most people go to the Better Business Bureau, which has no law enforcement authority. He says that means it's important that the BBB and the law enforcement officials have an ongoing relationship.
A new task force is the framework for the inter-agency cooperation which includes both federal and state officials. The Better Business Bureau says consumer fraud costs people nationwide $100-billion last year.
The agencies included in the task force are the St. Louis Better Business Bureau, the Missouri and Illinois Attorneys General Offices, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Missouri, and the Federal Trade Commission.