AG: Stop online price-comparison

AUSTIN (KXAN) - American consumers have lost $8 billion in the past two years to cybercriminals, according to Consumer Reports.

As Cyber Monday opens the official online shopping season, that amount is sure to increase.

One of the biggest current online scams comes from price-comparison Web sites. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said he aims to "crackdown" on those sites for "deceiving online shoppers."

"While the defendants promised independent, reliable Web site comparisons, state investigators uncovered a cash-for-ratings scheme in which certain online retailers paid for higher rankings," said a press release sent by the AG's office. "The state's enforcement action comes as the holiday shopping season begins in earnest with the traditional post-Thanksgiving... "Cyber Monday."

The Attorney General's Office filed two separate lawsuits against Intercept LLC, the company they claim is misleading clients. They operate Shopcartusa.com, Flyingprices.com, Digitalsaver.com and Pricingdepot.com. The lawsuit insists Intercept stop the misleading tactics and payd a civil penalty. If they do not abide by those requirements, the lawsuit said they should stop doing business as soon as possible.

They also filed a lawsuit against Everyprice.com Inc, which operates the Web sites Everyprice.com and Lowpricedigital.com. Those sites are accused of steering clients toward merchants that were paying for the recommendation. The merchants allegedly would use bait and switch tactics to convince customers to buy more expensive products than they first looked for.

"With this year's holiday shopping season kicking off in the midst of a down economy, many savvy Texans will try to maximize their dollars by using the Internet to research the highest-quality vendors with the lowest prices," Attorney General Abbott said. "But online shoppers need to know that the Office of the Attorney General has charged multiple Web sites with unlawfully promising unbiased rankings while secretly accepting undisclosed payments for inflating sellers' online ratings. So Texans should be wary and carefully consider their sources, because some Web sites may not be providing the unbiased ratings they promise."