A ttorney General Janet Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh lobbied Congress yesterday to expand the federal role in the battle against Internet crime. President Clinton this week tried to reassure Internet executives that Big Brother was not coming to the Internet. There's no question that as Internet use increases, Internet use by criminals increases. A well-publicized hacker has recently elevated this gambit to a new level, blackmailing an online retailer from which he stole thousands of credit card numbers.
Anonymity emboldens perverts .
And sexual predators use the seemingly benign settings of chat rooms to identify and lure potential victims. A global network multiples opportunities for economic crime . In another alleged racket, Alfred Flores was indicted and accused of purchasing shares of a bankrupt chain of used car dealerships. Slowly, even some ardent defenders of the Internet's libertarian culture are turning to government for protection. And therein lies a hidden threat posed by Internet crime.