Feds' Cybercrime Crackdown Yields 125 Arrests:
Cybercrooks go 'phishing,' but it's law enforcement that nets some big catches.
By George V. Hulme
A crackdown on Internet fraud schemes dubbed Operation Cyber Sweep has netted 125 arrests or convictions and more than 70 indictments, federal law-enforcement officials say.
The operation began Oct. 1 and involved more than 125,000 victims with losses estimated to exceed $100 million. Department of Justice officials said Thursday that more than 90 search-and-seizure warrants were conducted.
Operation Cyber Sweep targeted some of the most common online fraud schemes, including identity theft, international money laundering, theft of business trade secrets, auction fraud, Web-site-spoofing schemes, and cyberextortion. The operation was a coordinated effort among 34 U.S. attorneys, the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission, the Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as other local, state, and foreign law-enforcement authorities."
