Online consumer protection in the United States has now come to require serious attention from the government, and the Federal Trade Commission in particular. When business is performed online, there is a large potential for fraud to occur. While shopping, for instance, a consumer might but, but not receive the product that has been paid for. Plainly, such an occurrence is a violation of consumer law. Even more, Internet fraud may sometimes escalate to a matter of greater severity if identity theft occurs. Making use of their online consumer protection, consumers who have become the victims of wrongful online business practices can and should file a complaint. After a complaint has been filed, the FTC or other such consumer protection agency will conduct an investigation and possibly take action against the guilty party. However, online fraud & deception can sometimes pose a much harder problem in terms of locating and prosecuting a guilty party.