More than 130 individuals were arrested and $17 million was seized in a nationwide crackdown in fraud, identity theft and other forms of Internet abuse, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said Friday.
The initiative, Operation E-Con, was coordinated by 43 U.S. attorneys offices, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Secret Service and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other state and local law-enforcement agencies.
According to news reports, those arrested stand accused of such crimes as setting up fake banking Web sites to collect the account numbers of unsuspecting customers to surreptitiously tape and sell unreleased movies.
Many of the cases involved advertising nonexistent goods or services. Defendants allegedly sold computers, video game consoles, Beanie Babies and other items through e-mail or online auction sites but never delivered them, while others allegedly sold counterfeit software and watches.
FBI Director Robert Muller said the federal crime-fighting agency has set up 60 specialized teams around the country to combat online fraud.
Internet fraud complaints have risen steadily over the past several years and now account for more than half of all fraud complaints received by the FTC, said FTC Chairman Timothy Muris in a statement.
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