The initiative, called Operation E-Con, has been co-ordinated by 43 US Attorney’s Offices, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Postal Inspection Service, Secret Service, and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement alongside a number of other state and local law enforcement agencies both in the United States and some other countries.
On-line crimes can include multimillion-dollar swindles, on-line auction scams, identity theft, business-opportunity frauds, and piracy of software and other copyrighted material.
"Cyber swindles and dot cons present new challenges to law enforcement," said Ashcroft. "The internet enables criminals to cloak themselves in anonymity, making it imperative that law enforcement act more quickly to stop newly emerging schemes before the perpetrators can disappear in the World Wide Web."
FTC Chairman Timothy Muris commented:
"Just three years ago, 31% of fraud complaints filed with the FTC involved the internet. In 2002, 47% of complaints were internet-related. We anticipate that by the end of this year, internet-related complaints will represent the majority of fraud complaints received by the FTC."
Since its recent inception, Operation E-Con has conducted more than 90 investigations involving 89,000 victims and estimated losses of more the $176 million.
Last week alone, federal agents arrested 50 people and executed 55 search and seizure warrants that have resulted in 12 guilty pleas and allowed US Attorneys to charge 48 individuals by indictment, information or criminal complaint.