The cybercrimes report came at a Congressional hearing this week on the fight against Internet fraud. The Fraud Complaint Center Web site is one attempt to curtail the online scams. Created by the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, it sifts through complaints and sends them to the appropriate federal, state, or local law enforcement agency. The effort is funded by the Department of Justice and comprises federal and state law enforcement agencies. Since it went online, the center has collected 36,410 complaints, and 30,000 were referred for investigation, according to Kubic.
Privacy issues come up in many of the fraud investigations.
With personal information such as Social Security numbers becoming available on servers and in cyberspace, identity theft is a concern. A 1998 law specifically made identity theft a crime. Representatives of the Secret Service, the FBI, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice told the subcommittee that the Identity Theft Act and existing fraud laws are strong enough to combat the problem of online fraud. But Susan Grant of the National Consumers League says she would like to see more FTC regulations concerning e-commerce. She wants rules that online retailers should follow, clear definitions of fraudulent activity, and requirements that retailers disclose information such as where they are physically located and how they can be contacted, she says.