Trading standards officers in the South-East have been awarded funding to help train those in the rest of the country about e-commerce and cybercrime.

The £97,000 is part of a grant of £500,000 for online projects from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The trading standards service was invited to bid for the money to increase their expertise and enhance the enforcement of consumer law in relation to online trading.

Projects to help the crackdown on rogue traders and stop to scams have been set up under the fund and some, such as consumercomplaints.org.uk have had a nationwide impact.

Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex trading standards organisations will be key players in the training initiative.

Training will cover three issues:

Enforcement on the
internet, investigating complaints and offences.

Obtaining digital evidence,
including seizing, transporting and storing evidence in a criminal investigation.

E-commerce for business
advisors, examining how to advise and assist traders, including both criminal and civil topics.

Policy and co-ordinating officer for the South-East Trading Standards Gaynor Johnson said: "With the advances in information technology, there is a long list of things we need to do and learn to combat online crime.

"We can only protect the public if our skills and knowledge are up to the task."

Other projects to receive the DTI funding include a study of whether consumer debt has been aggravated by easy access to online finance and an investigation of the supply of prescription medicines through the internet.

Consumer Minister, Melanie Johnson said:

"Trading standards officers play a vital role in cracking down on cheats and identifying scams.

"We want to help them be even more effective. E-commerce is of growing importance to both consumers and business but consumers are often uncertain of their rights and of what to do when transactions go wrong."

www.tradingstandards.gov.uk
www.dti.gov.uk